ora 


I 


v  /£; 


THE  BIG-HORN  TREASURE 


IT'S    A    NrGGKT!       Soil!)    GOLD1." 


THE 

BIG-HORN    TREASURE 


A  TALE  OF 
ROCKY   MOUNTAIN   ADVKNTUKK 


JOHN    K.   CARGILL 


CHICAGO 
A.  C.  McCLURG  AND   COMPANY 

1897 


COPYRIGHT 

BY  A.  C.  McCi.uRG  Si  Co. 
A.D.  1897 


CONTENTS 


I'AGH 
9 

II.       A   HUNTING  TRIP  AND  WHAT  CAM  1C  OK   IT          .  2/ 

in.    THE  "SLIDE"-   SANCHO'S  MISADVENTURE  .        42 

IV.      MEETING — DINNER  AT  CAMP  6l 


70 

VI.       SCIENTIFIC    MEASUREMENTS    UNDER 

DIFFICULTIES        ....  8? 

vii.     NEAL'S  "BLOW-UP"    -THE  SICK  STRANGER  .        97 

VIII.       RESULT    OF    DAVF/S    ASSAY         ...  114 


X.       THE  PASSING  OF  THE   SICK   MAN,  AND  ITS 

CONSEQUENCES     ...... 

XI.       PHIL'S  LOST  TRAIL      -THE  AGILE   INVALID 
XII.      T II E    F I L 1 N G  —  N E A L   DELIVERS    A N    O P I N I O N 

XIII.      THE    HOUSE  THAT    DA VI-:   BUILT  —  THE 
PACK-RAT 


XIV.       HUNTING    THE    BIG-HORN  ...  jg4 

XV.       THE    PLUNGE-BATH     -THE    CAVERN          .  .         206 

XVI.      A    CAVE    OF    WONDERS 


.         215 

M105422 


xvii.     THE  VICTORS'  RETURN  ,  223 


XIX.  ARRIVAL    OF    THI-:    PACK    TRAIN 

xx.  THE  RAID  — NKAL'S  CHECKMATE 

XXI.  PHII/S    AQUATICS -RESCUE    OF    HRODIE 

XXII.  I)  R  ICSS    PARADE  — THE    SHERIFF      . 


XXIV.       A    RAFTING    EPISODE     --KEN'S    DISCOVJCRV     .         303 

XXV.      EOl'R   YEARS  EATER— RETURN    OF    Till-: 

WANDERERS  .  .          ..  .  .  •         314 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


IT  s  A  NUGGET!  SOLID  GOLD: 

J  'l.I,  GIYK   HIM   Till".   FIRST  SALUTE." 

TIIF    ROCKS  SLll'J'I-:!)  FROM    P.ENI'.ATH  TIIK1R    FEET.' 


IF  THI-;  SAMPLE  WAS  FAIR  THE  STUFF  RUNS  AIJOUT 
TWENTY-SEYEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  IN  GOLD! 


107 


SICK  MAN  INDEED!     HE  s  AS  FULL  OF  JUMP  AS  A 

COYOTE."          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,l6l 

Till'.   START  WHICH    HRODIE  GAYE  SHOWED  THE 

THINNESS  OF  HIS  MASK."     .  17: 


DAYE  COULD  SEE  Till-:  HERD  IN   FULLEST  DETAIL.       .       203 
HE    SHOT    DOWNWARD    LIKE  A  FLASH."  .  .  .211 

NEAL  THEN  CRAWLED  WITHIN."     .....      233 
A  LONG  PROCESSION  OF  CLEAN-LI  M  IJED  MULES."  .       2.\J 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PACK 

'   THEIR   FIRST  LESSON  IN   PRACTICAL   MINING."      .  2Z" 

"HE  ALMOST  DROPPED  HIS    PAIL    IN    ASTONISHMENT."  2"n 

"Till-:   SUSPENDED   MAN   FELL   LIKE  A    LOG."    .            .            .  267 

"IT'S    A    GREAT    CATCH    YOU 'VE    MADE."           .           .  28? 

"HE  WENT  DOWN  WITH  A  GREAT  SPLASH."     .           .           .  p9 

"HE  QUICKLY  ALIGHTED  AND  SPRANG  TO  THE  STEPS."  321 


THE   BIG-HORN   TREASURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FLASH  MESSAGE. 

"  If  you  have  any  opinion  to  offer  on  this  situ 
ation,  Ken,  I  'm  willing  to  listen,  but  my  legs 
are  telling  me  that  I  can  hear  better  sitting  than 
standing.  Let  's  breathe." 

Without  waiting  for  a  response  the  speaker 
threw  himself  upon  the  ground.  "  Ah !  "  he 
ejaculated,  with  a  long  deep  sigh  of  pleasure, 
"  Was  n't  that  a  climb,  though?  This  rest  is  all 
the  happiness  I  shall  require  for  a  fewr  minutes." 

He  was  a  manly  looking  fellow  of  about  seven 
teen  or  eighteen  years,  and  his  remarks  were  ad 
dressed  to  another  young  man,  wrho,  in  appear 
ance,  seemed  a  year  or  two  older. 

11  I  think  I  '11  join  you,  Phil,"  he  replied,  as 
he  took  possession  of  a  smooth  rock  by  his  side. 
"  Sancho  won't  object,  I  venture  to  say."  There 
came  another  great  sigh  of  relief,  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  one  his  companion  had  given 


10  THE   -BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

forth,  and  for  a  few  minutes  neither  of  the 
young  men  spoke  again,  giving  themselves  up  to 
perfect  inaction  and  a  dreamy  contemplation 
of  the  landscape. 

The  third  member  of  the  party,  to  whom  Ken 

had     referred     as    "Sancho,"    was    a     Mexican 

donkey,  or  burro,  bearing  a  pack  about   as   large 

—  but  possibly  not  quite   as  heavy  —  as  himself. 

The  three  together  made  up  a  group  which,  taken 
in  connection  with  their  surroundings,  would 
have  been  thought  unusually  picturesque,  if  not 
astonishing,  could  it  have  been  viewed  by  a  per 
son  unaccustomed  to  such  things. 

The  most  noteworthy  feature  was  the  situa 
tion.  This  was  the  rocky  and  broken  summit  of  a 
high  mountain,  which  towered  above  everything 
else  around ;  and  the  young  men  were  looking 
clown  upon  and  across  scores  of  peaks,  many  of 
which,  taken  by  themselves,  were  mountains  of 
consequence. 

In  fact,  the  three  living  figures  and  bundle  of 
chattels  overtopped  the  last  and  uppermost  of 
what  had  seemed  to  them,  upon  approach,  to  be 
a  tremendous  heap  of  porphyry  rocks  of  irregu 
lar  and  confused  shapes,  as  though  thrown  and 
left  there  by  some  convulsion. 

This  appearance,  though,  was  not  in  all  re 
spects  real;  for  the  young  men,  as  they  neared 


THE    FLASH    MESSAGE.  II 

the  top,  had  noted  —  because  they  were  especially 
interested   in   observing   geological  formations  — 
that   the   rocks,  although   twisted  by  former  vol 
canic  action,  still,  for  the  most  part,  held  to  their 
natural  place. 

From  where  they  sat  they  could  see  that  they 
were  upon  the  apex  of  a  great  bisected  cone  which 
had  only  a  slight  width  at  the  top  and  sloped 
sharply  toward  the  west,  and  that  the  whole  up 
per  half  of  the  east  face  was  as  sheer  and  smooth 
as  though  some  Titan-  had  hewn  it  with  his 
mighty  ax. 

The  party  not  merely  seemed  to  overhang, 
but  during  the  last  few  hundred  feet  of  their  ad 
vance  the  sensation  had  been  almost  that  of 
floating  above,  depths  so  remote  that  objects 
underneath  them  could  not  be  distinguished  in 
the  dim  distance,  and  the  things  nearest  within 
their  reach  were  the  vaporous  clouds,  which,  as 
they  scudded  past,  tended  to  create  the  dreadful 
feeling  of  toppling  over  into  nothingness. 

They  knew  that  with  only  one  little  stam 
mering  step  their  darting  flight  through  the 
underlying  blue  and  shadowy  horror,  and  into 
the  hereafter,  would  outdo  the  eagle  in  swift 
ness;  and  yet  they  had  been  neither  giddy  nor 
afraid,  for  such  experiences  were  not  new  to 
them. 


12  THE    Hir, -IIOKX    TREASURE. 

As  the  senses  of  our  two  adventurers  became 
gradually  freed  from  the  strain  of  weariness,  they 
awoke  to  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  before 
them. 

With  one  circular  sweep  their  eyes  encom 
passed  nearly  the  entire  mountain  region  of 
western  Colorado.  Both  of  them  were  accus 
tomed  to  rugged  scenery,  but  their  natures  were 
too  fine  ever  to  become  dulled  to  the  wonders  of 
a  prospect  such  as  this. 

The  mountain  peaks  seemed  as  numberless  as 
the  stars,  but  with  another  and  a  greater  glory  — 
a  glory  of  tint  and  luster  which  no  language 
could  express  or  poet  ever  sing.  From  the  daz 
zling  sheen  of  the  summer  sun  upon  snow-capped 
summits,  ranging  through  pearl-gray,  opalescent, 
amethyst,  and  ruby-colored  masses,  thrown  into 
astonishing  contrasts  and  delicious  blendings  by 
the  haziness  over  the  valleys,  the  iridescence  of 
forest-tops,  the  flying  cloud,  the  distant  shower 
of  rain,  and  the  deep  black  shade  of  canon  or 
basin. 

To  the  eastward  the  Saguache  Mountains,  ab 
ruptly  shutting  off  the  plains,  lessened  the  ex 
panse  to  about  fifty  miles.  But,  north,  south, 
and  west,  the  distances  seemed  to  be  without 
measure  or  bound.  In  the  south,  the  ragged  and 
dark  San  Juan  Range;  more  westerly,  the  Un- 


THK    FLASH    MESSAGE.  13 

compahgre  group;  while  in  the  extreme  west, 
blending  with  blue  sky  and  purple  haze, 

"  Far,  vague,  and  dim," 

the  Wahsatch  Range  of  Utah,  distant  more  than 
two  hundred  miles,  and  floating  in  mid-air,  sug 
gested  to  Ken  the  lines  of  "  Drifting." 

North  and  northwest,  the  view,  stretching  to 
the  border  of  Wyoming  and  beyond,  embraced, 
besides  a  wilderness  of  mountains  in  groups  and 
singly,  wide  spaces  of  brown  and  amber  table 
land  with  scant  vegetation. 

Long  they  gazed  in  silence,  with  rapturous 
half-intoxicated  senses,  and  with  but  small  con 
sciousness  of  feature  or  outline. 

But  at  length  their  eyes  came  wandering  back 
from  the  dim  distance  to  the  details  of  objects 
nearer  at  hand. 

Here  were  valleys  which  the  crystal  atmos 
phere  rendered  clear  in  all  their  fullness :  nume 
rous  waterfalls  glittering  like  threads  of  spun 
glass,  and  small  lakes  which  mirrored  the  green 
of  forest  and  the  rose-color  of  overhanging  pre 
cipice. 

Nearly  two  thousand  feet  beneath  them  on  the 
west  side  was  the  divide  between  two  rivers :  one 
flowing  south  to  the  Gunnison,  the  other  north 
ward  to  the  Grand,  the  waters  of  which  were  to 


T4  T 

finally  meet  in  their  rush  through  the  dark,  mys 
terious  Canon  of  the  Colorado.  The  northerly 
stream  received  its  first  impulse  from  the  snows  of 
a  high  peak  just  across  the  intervening  gulch, 
which  seemed  to  be  within  stone 's-throw,  but 
was  actually  four  miles  awray,  in  a  straight  line. 

From  beneath  the  glistening  snow-bank  the 
ne\v-born  stream  plunged  down  the  mountain  in 
a  scries  of  hardy  leaps,  until  it  reached  a  level 
shelf  or  bench  of  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  acres 
in  extent,  perched  about  midway  above  the 
valley. 

On  this  lofty  platform,  apparently  safe  from 
the  intrusion  of  any  living  creature  without  wings, 
was  a  lovely  small  lake  surrounded  by  the  ver 
dure  of  mountain  shrubbery  and  grass. 

Suddenly,  Phil,  whose  eyes  had  for  some  time 
been  directed  toward  this  portion  of  the  scene, 
broke  the  silence,  exclaiming: 

"Good  gracious,  Ken!  look  here!  Do  you  see 
the  shelf  in  the  side  of  the  cliff  over  yonder?  " 

"You  mean  the  one  that  has  the  lake,  and 
looks  like  a  balcony  with  a  jardiniere  on  it?" 
asked  Ken. 

"  Yes,  that  's  it,"  replied  Phil  eagerly.  "  Now 
look  along  the  left  side.  Do  you  see  two  white 
spots  against  the  green  of  the  bushes?  " 

"Well!      Of  all   marvelous   things,  that's   the 


TIIK    FLASH     MKSSACK.  15 

greatest."  murmured  Ken  in  low-voiced  aston 
ishment.  "  Is  it  possible  they  are  tents?  ' 

"  Good  enough!  "  cried  Phil  in  an  excited  but 
somewhat  relieved  tone.  "I  wasn't  able  to 
fully  trust  my  own  eyes,  but  since  you  see  them, 
it  's  settled.  Yes,  they  are  tents.  Say,  where  's 
the  glass?"  lie  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  running 
to  the  burro,  fumbled  a  moment  inside  a  leather 
pouch  which  was  strapped  outside  the  pack;  then 
quickly  returned  with  a  telescope. 

Hastily  adjusting  it,  he  leveled  it  across  Ken's 
shoulder  and  took  a  quick  alignment  and  sight. 
Then  he  shouted,  "A  pair  of  jacks!  Hold  on  a 
minute  —  I  believe  —  yes,  as  sure  as  you  're  a 
living  man,  it  's  Neal  Mclnnis.  I  know  him  bv 

o  •* 

his  stride  and  by  his  white  duck  trousers." 

"Oh!  say,  Phil!"  exclaimed  Ken,  "I  think 
your  imagination  is  getting  the  better  of  you. 
The  idea  of  there  being  a  man  and  two  burros  in 
that  place!  Why,  it's  fully  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  basin,  and  upwards  of  a 
thousand  feet  below  the  summit.  It  would  seem 
about  as  reasonable  to  talk  about  seeing  them 
bowling  along  on  top  of  that  cloud  yonder." 

"All  right,"  laughed  Phil.  "Here,  take  the 
glass  and  look  for  yourself.  You  sa\v  the  tents, 
did  n't  you?  I  've  no  more  idea  how  they  got 
there  than  you  have,  but  there  they  are,  as  snug 


!6  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

and  cozy  as  you  please.  It  's  our  boys'  camp, 
and  we  have  got  to  find  the  way  to  it  before  dark 
to-night,  or  Sancho  won't  have  much  chance  to 
break  his  fast.  There  's  hardly  enough  for  a 
grasshopper  to  eat  anywhere  on  this  mountain." 

While  Phil  was  talking,  Ken,  with  the  glass 
leveled  over  Phil's  shoulder,  was  making  a  careful 
scrutiny  of  the  objects  under  discussion.  At 
length  he  said,  "  It  's  surely  a  camp;  tents,  bur 
ros,  man  and  all.  I  believe  you  are  right  too, 
about  it  's  being  Mclnnis.  But  do  you  suppose 
there  is  another  man  upon  earth  besides  that 
Scotchman  who  would  climb  up  to  such  a  place 
as  that  to  prospect  for  a  mine?  And  where  do 
you  suppose  Dave  is?" 

"  He  can't  be  very  far  away,"  replied  Phil, 
"  for  the  reason  that  he  could  n't  get  away,  ap 
parently,  without  falling  off  the  shelf.  Say, 
Ken,  I  '11  try  to  call  him,  if  you  agree  to  wait  a 
little  while  and  help  me." 

"Call  him!  Wait  for  you!  What  in  the 
world  are  you  talking  about,  Phil?  " 

"  Do  you  remember  the  helioscope  that  Dave 
and  I  made  and  used  to  experiment  with?  Well, 
I  have  it  right  here.  I  smuggled  it  into  the 
pack  along  with  my  clothes.  You  see  it  does  n't 
take  up  any  great  room,  or  weigh  much,"  Phil 
added  by  way  of  apology,  "and  Dave  and  I 


TJ1K    FLASH    MKSSAGK.  1 7 

talked  it  over  and  agreed  to  take  them  along  with 
us.  We  thought  they  might  come  into  good 
use.  Dave  has  the  mate  to  it  over  yonder,  and 
this  is  as  good  a  chance  as  we  could  possibly 
ask  to  find  out  whether  or  not  they  are  of  any 
value. " 

Ken  glanced  up  at  the  sun,  took  out  his 
watch,  and  then  said: 

"Well,  it 's  not  quite  twelve  o'clock.  Neal 
has  probably  just  come  from  the  place  where 
they  are  at  work,  and  is  now  getting  dinner. 
This  is  a  good  time  to  try  it  on,  and  if  you  can 
manage  to  communicate  with  the  boys  over  there 
by  means  of  it,  I  will  forgive  you  for  making 
Sancho  tote  it  without  my  knowledge.  I  have  n't 
very  much  faith  in  the  thing,  though." 

11  Well,  Ken,  I  would  n't  have  brought  it,  and 
I  would  n't  ask  to  try  it  now,  if  I  were  not  con 
fident  of  what  can  be  done  with  it.  I  will  either 
make  Dave  tell  us  how  to  reach  their  perch,  or 
throw  the  apparatus  down  into  the  basin  here. 
Come,  we  will  have  to  undo  the  pack." 

The  "  pack"-  -  which  was  a  large,  shapeless 
bundle  done  up  in  a  piece  of  light  duck  —  was 
hastily  undone,  and  lifted  from  Sancho's  back  to 
the  ground. 

Spreading  it  open,  Phil  selected  a  flour-sack, 
which  contained  his  own  personal  belongings, 


1 8  THK    P.IG-iroRX    TRKASUKK. 

and,  quickly  untying  the  string,  thrust  in  his  arm. 
After  a  moment's  fumbling  he  drew  out  a  woolen 
shirt,  and,  unrolling  it,  brought  to  view  a  small, 
flat,  wooden  box.  Opening  this  he  took  out  a 
number  of  articles  or  pieces  which  might  have 
puzzled  any  one  but  himself  to  state  their  use. 

"Please  hand  me  the  telescope,  Ken,"  he 
saicl. 

Taking  the  glass,  he  selected  two  pieces  from 
his  box  that  were  exactly  alike,  and  fastened 
them  to  the  telescope  by  means  of  clamps  and 
set-screws,  with  which  they  were  fitted.  Both 
pieces  he  fixed  to  one  side  of  the  glass,  one  near 
the  object  end,  the  other  several  inches  farther 
back,  and  exactly  in  line  with  each  other.  These 
were  simply  round  pasteboard  disks  about  four 
inches  in  breadth,  with  a  hole  in  the  center 
about  an  inch  in  diameter. 

Then  he  took  a  small  mirror  about  two  inches 
broad,  also  fitted  with  clamps,  and  with  a  swivel 
arrangement  so  that  it  could  be  moved  in  any 
direction.  This  he  fastened  nearest  to  the  eye 
piece  of  the  telescope,  and  also  exactly  in  line 
with  the  two  disks.  The  mirror  had  a  very  small 
space  in  its  center,  from  which  the  quicksilver  had 
been  scraped,  enabling  one  to  peep  from  the  back 
of  the  mirror  through  the  holes  in  both  disks. 

Lastly,  he  fastened  another  clamp  to  the  cen- 


THE    FLASH    MESSAGE.  1 9 

ter  and  under  side  of  the  telescope,  to  which  was 
attached,  by  a  swivel  with  an  up-and-down 
movement,  a  round  brass  pin  that  fitted  into  a 
socket  in  a  flat  block  of  wood.  This  served  as  a 
standard. 

11  There,"  said  Phil,  "  that's  all  there  is  to  it. 
Do  you  think  I  can  talk  to  Dave  with  the  thing?  " 

11  I  have  heard  of  something  of  the  sort,  and 
I  'm  sure  you  have  my  best  and  most  earnest 
wishes,"  replied  Ken,  ''but  I  do  not  by  any 
means  feel  sure  of  it." 

11  Dave  and  I  have  tried  it  before,  although 
never  at  such  long  range  as  this.  It  will  work 
though,  I  promise  you,"  said  Phil  confidently. 

Phil  then  placed  his  instrument  upon  a  flat, 
smooth  rock  and  pointed  it  carefully  toward  the 
distant  tents.  After  sighting  and  focusing  the 
telescope,  he  next  turned  the  mirror  so  that  it 
would  reflect  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  cast  them 
upon  the  center  of  the  pasteboard  disk  in  front. 
As  the  holes  in  the  two  disks  were  in  line,  and 
in  the  same  plane  with  the  telescope,  a  small, 
round,  but  dazzling  reflection  was  throwrn  across 
the  valley,  touching  the  ground  near  the  tents. 

Phil  now  began  carefully  to  manipulate  his  in 
strument,  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
distant  man  to  the  reflection.  This  required 
much  care  and  considerable  skill,  as,  at  the  dis- 


20  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

tancc  to  which  it  was  thrown,  a  slight  deflection 

of  the  instrument   made   quite  a  difference  in  the 

direction  of  the  flash. 

'  I  shall  have  to  keep  my  eye  to  the  telescope, 

Ken,"  he  said,  "  and  if  you  will  please  watch  the 

mirror  so  as  to  keep  it  right  with  the  sun,  I  think 

I  shall  surprise  Neal  pretty  soon." 

For    some    moments    neither   of    them    spoke, 

Phil  meanwhile  shifting  his   flash  ever  so  slightly 

to  the  right,  then  to  the  left,  then  up,  then  down; 

but  it  seemed  to  dodge  the  man  upon  all  sides. 
At  last  he  whispered,    "Ah!  I  hit  him   then! 

He  noticed  it  and  looked  around."  In  another 
minute  he  said  excitedly,  "I  've  got  him  now, 
sure.  He  's  standing  up  and  looking  this  way. 
Get  a  shirt  or  a  blanket,  Ken,  and  wave  it. 
Quick!  " 

Ken  seized  the  nearest  article  and  waved  it 
back  and  forth,  saying,  "Do  you  think  he  sees 
us,  Phil?" 

"  I  'm  sure  he  sees  something,"  Phil  replied, 
"but  I  guess  he  hasn't  quite  got  his  wits  col 
lected  yet.  He  's  gone  into  the  tent  on  the  run 
now.  I  '11  bet  anything  he  's  after  their  glass. 
Here  he  comes  again  !  Yes, —  he  's  right  in  the 
same  spot,  and  I  believe  he  's  pointing  the  glass 
this  way.  Keep  on  waving  to  him,  Ken!  Hur 
rah!  He's  caught  on!  He's  waving  his  hat 


THE    FLASH    MKSSACK.  21 

now!  He  sees  us,  and  recognizes  us.  Now  he  's 
off,  running  as  fast  as  he  can  go, — -out  of  sight 
in  the  bushes.  He  's  gone  after  Dave!  " 

Ken  was  laughing  -gleefully,  and  was  quite  as 
much  excited  as  Phil ;  but  he  asked,  rather  doubt 
fully,  "  Did  you  really  see  all  that,  Phil?  I  can't 
see  anything  at  all  over  there,  except  the  two 
specks  of  tents. " 

To  which  Phil  replied  with  great  satisfaction 
and  importance,  "You  just  wait  a  few  minutes, 
and  you  '11  see.  Dave  won't  hang  on  to  his  pick 
or  shovel  very  long  after  Neal  gets  to  him.  He 
will  have  to  fix  the  instrument  and  do  the  tele 
graphing,  as  Neal  don't  know  anything  about 
the  combination.  We  use  the  Morse  alphabet. 
You  know,  Dave  and  I  both  learned  to  be  pretty 
fair  telegraph-operators,  and  it  was  through  that 
that  we  got  to  experimenting  with  the  helioscope. 

"  Here  they  both  come,  running  hard.  Now 
Neal  is  pointing  his  arm  this  way,  and  Dave  has 
the  glass.  Their  working-place  must  be  right 
close  at  hand.  Dave  is  making  a  good,  careful 
survey  of  us.  Are  you  waving  to  him,  Ken?  " 

"  Yes,  I  ' m  giving  it  to  him  strong,  "  replied  Ken. 

"All  right,  ha,  ha!  He  is  capering  about 
now.  Both  of  them  are  dancing  and  waving  their 
hats.  Now  I  '11  give  him  the  first  salute.  He 
can  read  my  dots  and  dashes  easily  with  his 


22  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

naked  eye,  but  he  will  have  to  fix  up  his  instru 
ment  to  answer  me.  Here  goes.  Now  don't 
disturb  me,  please." 

Phil  then  took  an  envelope  from  his  pocket, 
and,  usinff  it  to  obscure  the  reflection  from  his 

o 

mirror,  made  a  rapid  succession  of  "dots"  of 
light  by  moving  it  up  and  down. 

Then  he  began, —  a  short  flash  for  a  dot,  and  a 
long  one  for  a  dash.  "  Hello,  boys!  "  he  (or  the 
instrument)  said;  "we  got  off  the  trail.  Fix 
your  instrument  and  tell  us  how  to  get  over  there. 
Hurry  up  !  We  want  to  reach  there  before  dark. 

Phil  now  placed  his  eye  to  the  instrument 
again,  explaining  to  Ken,  as  he  did  so,  what  his 
flash-message  had  been. 

"  Do  you  suppose  he  read  it?  "  asked  Ken. 

"  Yes,  he  's  waving  his  hat  again.  He  got  it 
all  right.  Now  he  's  gone  into  the  tent.  He 
will  hustle  his  apparatus  together  and  do  some 
talking  himself,  presently." 

In  a  few  moments  Phil  said:  "Dave  is  out 
again  and  sitting  upon  the  ground.  I  fancy  he 
is  putting  his  helioscope  together.  Neal  is  bring 
ing  something  too;  I  guess  it  's  the  camp-table, 
for  Dave  to  set  the  instrument  on." 

For  a  little  while  nothing  more  was  said.  Then 
Phil  spoke  suddenly:  "I  believe  he  is  all  ready, 
and  is  going  to  let  us  have  it." 


'"  \  'LL   GIVE    HIM    THE    FIRST   SALUTE.' 


T1IK    FLASH    MKSSAOK.  25 

Immediately  there  came  a  brilliant  flash.  ' '  Yes, 
here  he  comes,"  said  Phil;  kt  now  he  's  going  to 
talk." 

Then  followed  a  succession  of  flashes.  Then, 
more  slowly,  came  the  dot-and-dash  message, 
which  Phil  spelled  out  for  Ken. 

It  said:  "Glad  to  see  you,  fellows.  Shake. 
Go  back  down  the  trail  till  you  come  to  creek, 
and  cross  to  other  side.  Then  follow  up  creek 
to  the  ice  bridge;  cross  again  and  keep  on  up 
stream.  You  can't  miss  west-side  trail,  but 
steep  and  rather  dangerous.  I  will  meet  you 
near  the  bottom.  Are  you  all  right?  " 

To  which  Phil  replied : 

' '  Yes,  all  right.  How  is  your  prospect  ?  Any 
thing  worth  staying  with?  "  Again  came  Dave's 
prompt  answer: 

"Yes,  rich   in   £old.      We   think  carries  silver 

o 

too,  but  no  complete  test  yet.  Can't  explain 
now.  Come  and  see.  Must  get  lunch,  then 
take  the  trail.  Hurry  along.  Don't  stop." 

"All  right.  Au  revoir,"  returned  Phil;  to 
which  came  back,  "  So  long." 

Phil  took  another  glance  through  the  tele 
scope  and  said  : 

"  He  's  putting  away  his  glass.  We  must  do 
the  same  and  pack  up  lively." 

Ken,  to  whom   Phil  had   interpreted   the  sue- 


26  TIIK    me;- HORN    TREASURE. 

ccssivc  messages  back  and  forth,  then  said: 
"Well,  Phil,  I  apologize.  Your  helioscope  is  all 
right,  and  has  probably  saved  us  much  trouble. 
I  will  withhold  my  sarcasms  next  time." 

"  That  's  all  right,  Ken,"  replied  Phil,  "there 
is  nothing  original  about  the  instrument  or  its 
use.  Dave  and  I  happened  to  have  tried  it, 
that  's  all." 

"Well,  it  was  a  happy  thought  that  led  you 
to  bring  it  up  here." 

"Yes,  I  am  very  glad  we  did,"  said  Phil. 

The  boys  were  meanwhile  busily  engaged  put 
ting  the  pack  into  shape.  This  was  speedily  ac 
complished ;  Sancho  was  turned  about,  the  pack 
lifted  again  into  its  place,  and  securely  roped  to 
the  pack-saddle. 

Then,  with  one  minute's  last  look  around  at 
the  matchless  landscape  and  one  brief  glance  into 
the  blue  depths  of  the  basin  beneath  them,  Ken 
shouted,  "Come,  Sancho,  get  up!  Supper, 
boy!  Grass  and  water  over  yonder! 

As  Sancho  belonged  to  an  unemotional  race, 
he  did  not  plunge  or  hurry  at  this  cheery  saluta 
tion.  He  groaned,  hesitated,  then  slowly  started, 
and  the  small  caravan  began  to  pick  its  rough 
and  hazardous  way  over  the  rocks  —  Ken  leading, 
the  burro  following,  and  Phil  bringing  up  the 
rear. 


CHAPTER    II. 

A  HUNTING  TRIP,   AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT. 

While  Phil  and  Ken  are  retracing  their  steps 
toward  the  valley  we  will  leave  them  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  in  a  few  words  explain  who  they  were 
and  what  was  the  nature  of  their  errand  to  the 
mountains. 

Philip  Wentworth's  father  had  been  a  St. 
Louis  business  man  who  had  gone  heavily  into 
Colorado  investments. 

Some  five  years  before  our  story  opens  he  had 
died  quite  suddenly  while  returning  from  the 
mountains,  where  he  had  been  looking  up  some 
of  his  interests. 

The  widow  soon  learned  that  the  business 
affairs  of  her  deceased  husband  were  much  in 
volved,  and  after  careful  consideration  she  de 
cided  to  take  up  her  residence  in  Denver,  as  be 
ing  more  nearly  the  center  of  the  interests  she 
was  in  hopes  of  preserving. 

During  the  five  years  since  her  removal  from 
St.  Louis  some  of  the  investments  had  turned 
out  very  badly,  some  were  involved  in  dispute, 

27 


28  THE    I5K1-IIORX    TRKAST  RK. 

while  still  others  scorned  to  give  promise  of  fu 
ture  value,  but  she  had  not  found  much  upon 
which  she  had  been  able  to  realize. 

However,  with  Phil's  assistance,  who,  as  he 
approached  manhood,  developed  excellent  busi 
ness  ability  and  judgment,  she  had  been  able  to 
gather  together  enough  to  insure  tolerable  com 
fort  for  herself  and  son,  so  she  decided  to  retain 
a  few  interests,  in  the  hope  that  their  value  would 
be  greater  in  the  course  of  time. 

o 

Phil  and  Kenneth  Carter  had  been  friends  from 
boyhood,  and  at  school  in  St.  Louis  the  simi 
larity  of  their  tastes  had  made  the  friendship  still 
stronger.  Phil  had  manifested  quite  a  decided 
inclination  toward  mechanics  and  engineering, 
but  his  mother  had  seemed  to  need  his  assistance, 
and  it  therefore  became  necessary  for  him  to 
leave  school  before  he  could  accomplish  his  wish 
for  a  course  in  engineering. 

After  removing  to  Denver  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  David  Ballard,  who  was  study- 
chemistry  and  assaying  at  the  school  of  mines, 
and  the  two  boys  were  at  once  drawn  together  as 
intimates  and  friends.  Phil  had  a  room  at  his 
mother's  home  which  he  used  as  a  workshop, 
and  here  he  invited  Dave,  where  together  they 
worked  and  talked,  giving  and  exchanging  many 
ideas  of  interest  and  value  to  both. 


A    IIUXTIXC;    TRIP.  29 

What  especially  attracted  Phil  to  David  was 
the  lad's  perfect  self-reliance  and  manliness.  He 
had  spent  nearly  all  his  life  in  the  mountains. 
His  father  had  been  a  mechanic  in  the  employ  of 
one  of  the  large  mining  companies,  and  had  been 
killed  by  an  accident.  His  mother  had  died  not 
long  before,  thus  leaving  David  and  one  sister, 
two  years  younger  than  himself,  orphaned  and 
alone,  but  not  entirely  penniless.  His  father  had 
accumulated  a  small  fund  of  savings  from  his 
wages,  and  the  company,  after  his  accidental 
death,  had  bestowed  the  sum  of  two  thousand 
dollars  upon  each  of  the  children. 

But  now  Dave's  independent  and  manly  spirit 
asserted  itself.  Retaining  only  what  he  thought 
he  would  need  to  carry  him  through  his  course  in 
assaying,  he  conferred  the  balance  of  the  whole 
sum  upon  his  sister  Lucy,  placed  her  in  the  fam 
ily  of  their  aunt  in  Denver,  and  insisted  that  she 
have  the  advantage  of  a  good  education. 

The  summer  preceding  the  one  wherein  this 
narrative  opens,  Phil  received  a  letter  from  his 
old  chum,  Ken  Carter.  It  was  written  from  his 
father's  home  in  St.  Louis,  and  stated  that  he 
was  greatly  out  of  health.  Ken  had  recently  fin 
ished  his  university  course  and  made  a  beginning 
at  reading  law.  which  profession  he  had  intended 
following;  but  it  was  now  feared  that  he  had  a 


30  THE    TUG -HORN    TREASURE. 

tendency  toward  lung  weakness,  and  the  family 
physician  advised  a  change  of  climate,  recom 
mending  a  long  visit  in  Colorado,  with  out-door 
life. 

Kenneth  asked  Phil  many  questions  about  the 
conditions  and  the  climate ;  whether  life  was  re 
garded  as  endurable  in  a  place  like  Denver;  and, 
in  case  he  should  go  farther  on,  into  the  mountains, 
what  sort  of  surroundings  he  was  to  expect,  etc. 

Phil  replied  that,  while  he  was  extremely  sorry 
for  his  old  chum's  ill-health,  he  would  be  more 
than  glad  to  welcome  him  to  Colorado.  He  was 
certain,  he  said,  that  the  climate  would  benefit 
him ;  and  as  for  the  life  and  surroundings,  he 
might  trust  him  to  make  it  as  pleasant  for  him 
as  possible.  "  Come  and  see,"  he  said;  "  I  am 
sure  you  will  like  Colorado,  as  we  all  do." 

He  went,  almost  at  once,  and  Phil,  with  his 
mother's  sanction,  asked  him  to  their  own  home. 

As  soon  as  they  met,  Phil  was  struck  with  much 
concern  for  his  friend's  health.  The  symptoms, 
to  him,  were  plainly  consumptive,  and  he  had 
become  rather  expert  in  his  judgment  regarding 
ailments  of  invalids,  of  whom  there  were  great 
numbers  (particularly  consumptives)  continually 
coming  into  the  state  from  the  East. 

The  weather  in  the  city  during  that  season 
was  unusually  warm  and  dry;  and,  to  Phil's  so- 


licitous  eyes,  it  seemed  as  though  Ken  did  not 
improve.  One  day,  while  talking  the  matter 
over  with  his  new  friend,  Dave  Ballard,  Phil 
asked  Dave  if  he  did  not  think  that  being  in  the 
mountains  and  out  of  doors  would  be  better  for 
Ken  than  the  city. 

"  It  's  the  very  thing  he  ought  to  have,"  re 
plied  Dave.  "  I  would  be  willing  to  warrant 
that  if  he  will  try  it,  it  will  bring  him  around  in 
a  few  weeks." 

"Then  I  certainly  must  get  him  to  try  it," 
said  Phil.  "  But  we  shall  have  to  arrange  some 
sort  of  scheme  or  programme  in  advance,  for 
Ken  seems  to  dread  the  rough  life  of  the  moun 
tains. 

"  It  must  be  the  sickness  that  has  taken  away 
his  nerve.  It  's  not  the  way  he  used  to  be.  Say, 
Dave,  can't  we  get  up  some  sort  of  a  hunting 
party?  " 

"  I  wish  we  might,"  said  Dave,  whose  eyes 
immediately  began  to  glow  with  the  anticipation 
of  his  beloved  mountains.  "  Howr  many  persons 
do  you  want  in  the  company?  " 

"  O,  almost  any  number  of  good  fellows;  I 
should  think  four  would  make  a  good  party," 
replied  Phil. 

'Well,  then,  let  me  suggest  something,"  said 
Dave.  "You  talk  your  friend  Ken  into  going, 


and  I  will  send  word  to  an  acquaintance  of  mint', 
a  miner  and  prospector,  who  has  been  every 
where,  and  knows  of  more  good  places  than  any 
man  in  the  state.  He  and  my  father  thought 
much  of  each  other,  and  he  will  do  a  good  deal 
for  me.  I  have  '  roughed  '  it  with  him  already, 
and  know  him  to  be  absolutely  reliable  in  good 
weather  and  bad,  and  a  splendid  fellow  too. 

"  But  there  's  one  thing,  though,"  and  Dave 
began  to  speak  somewhat  hesitatingly;  "  do  you 
suppose,  Phil,  that  we  can  afford  to  pay  him  for 
his  services  as  guide  and  assistant?  I  know  he 
is  '  broke,'  and  at  present  he  is  working  by  the 
month  for  one  of  the  mines.  I  know  his  dispo 
sition  well  enough  to  be  certain  that  he  would 
like  to  join  us  under  any  circumstances,  but  I  'm 
afraid  he  will  feel,  just  now,  that  he  can't  afford 
it." 

Phil  laughed  gaily  at  Dave's  modest  way  of 
urging  his  friend,  and  exclaimed:  "Pay  him? 
Well,  I  should  think  we  would  !  We  will  pay  him 
better  wages  than  he  is  getting  now,  and  think 
ourselves  very  lucky  to  get  him.  I  'd  like  to 
give  you  a  gold  medal,  too,  for  speaking  of  him. 
You  must  remember,  Dave,  that  Ken  is  rich, 
and  his  people  would  gladly  spend  a  fortune  to 
be  able  to  restore  his  health.  As  this  thing  is 
being  planned  for  his  especial  benefit,  you  will 


sec,  ill  case  it  comes  off  at  all,  that  Ken  will  in 
sist  upon  paying  for  its  entire  cost.  Hut,  to  get 
the  negotiations  started  off  upon  a  business  basis, 
I  want  to  say  that  I  will  guarantee  it  all  myself. 
I  am  not  rich,  but  I  would  do  it  alone  if  neces 
sary.  Of  course  I  shall  pay  my  own  expenses 
anyhow,  and  I  want  to  pay  yours  too,  Dave." 

"Thank  you  very  much,  but  you  can't  have 
that  pleasure,"  said  Dave  firmly.  "  It  will  not 
cost  me  a  great  deal,  and  I  shall  pay  it  myself." 

''Well,  we  will  arrange  that  when  we  come  to 
the  'clean  up,'"  said  Phil.  "Now,  about  this 
friend  of  yours. 

"He  is  of  Scotch  parents,  and  his  name  is 
Neal  Mclnnis;  a  comparatively  young  man, 
although  I  do  not  know  his  precise  age,  and 
he  has  been  knocking  about  the  world,  princi 
pally  the  West,  ever  since  a  lad.  He  seems  to 
have  been  almost  from  end  to  end  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  his  fund  of  anecdotes  of  his  per 
sonal  experience  is  remarkable.  In  many  re 
spects  he  is  a  typical  prospector;  I  presume  you 
do  not  know  the  class,  as  I  do,  —  I  will  tell  you 
about  them  some  time, — but,  in  general,  I  think 
he  is  an  exceptional  man.  He  is  bright  and 
witty,  honest  to  a  fault,  uneducated,  but  very 
intelligent,  always  good-tempered,  and  the  very 
best  company  imaginable. 


34  THE    UK; -HORN    TREASURE. 

"  I  know  I  have  a  tendency  to  be  enthusiastic 
about  Neal,  but  I  am  sure  that  a  better  man  than 
he  for  such  an  expedition  could  not  be  found 
in  the  whole  West.  He  will  be  great  medicine 
for  Ken.  Neal  and  the  mountain  life  will  make 
a  new  man  of  him  in  short  order." 

"But  are  you  sure  we  can  get  him?"  asked 
Phil  anxiously. 

"Yes,  I  heard  from  him  only  lately,  and  it  is 
only  the  pinch  of  necessity  that  keeps  him  where 
he  is.  He  longs  for  the  free  life  of  the  moun 
tains;  and  then,  like  all  prospectors,  he  wants  to 
accumulate  enough  money  to  enable  him  to 
chase  up  some  old  idea  of  a  mineral  discovery. 
lie  will  jump  at  the  chance  to  go,  especially  if 
we  offer  him  a  little  more  pay  than  he  is  now 
getting.  You  go  and  hunt  up  Ken,  and  get 
him  interested,  and  I  will  get  a  letter  off  to  Neal 
immediately  afterward. " 

Phil  lost  no  time  in  telling  Ken  of  the  pro 
posed  hunt,  and  his  interest  was  aroused  with 
far  less  difficulty  than  had  been  imagined. 

Dave  and  Phil  then  went  about  their  prepara 
tions  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  and  in  a 
few  days  a  reply  came  from  Neal  Mclnnis  say 
ing  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to  join  them. 

The  outcome  of  it  was, — not  to  continue  to 
too  great  a  length  the  account  of  previous  occur- 


A    HUXTIXC;    TRIP.  35 

renccs, — that  one  morning,  about  two  weeks 
later,  the  expedition  left  Denver,  headed  for  the 
mountains. 

Ncal  had  written  that  he  would  meet  them  at 
a  given  point  over  the  range,  and  that  he  had 
his  own  saddle-horse;  so  that  the  caravan,  after 
Ncal  had  joined  them,  consisted  of  the  three 
young  men  and  their  guide,  and  six  animals, 
two  of  which  were  pack-horses. 

It  will  suffice  to  state  that  the  hunt  was  a 
glorious  success.  It  was  a  round  of  pleasure, 
without  a  serious  mishap  or  an  unpleasant  inci 
dent,  from  first  to  last. 

Ken's  health  began  to  improve  from  the  first 
day  out ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  was  as  enthu 
siastic  a  mountaineer,  and  as  brown,  active,  and 
athletic,  as  his  companions. 

Game  of  all  sorts  was  abundant,  and  so  easily 
obtained  that  the  lads  quickly  settled  into  a  plan 
of  killing  only  as  their  needs  required. 

As  theirs  was  not  a  slaughtering  expedition, 
and  their  needs  were  supplied  with  little  effort, 
the  party  devoted  the  larger  part  of  its  time  to 
wandering  hither  and  thither,  obtaining  the 
highest  enjoyment  from  visiting  points  of  inter 
est,  and  viewing  the  scenes  of  beauty  and 
grandeur  which  were  upon  every  hand. 

One  evening,  after  having  been  out  for  several 


3<>  TIII-:    BIO-HORN    TREASURE. 

weeks,  all  were  sitting  around  their  bright  camp- 
fire. 

Supper  was  over,  and  the  boys  were  having 
their  usual  round  of  pleasant  conversation  and 
anecdote. 

The  subject  this  evening  was  mines  and  min 
eral  discovery. 

Ken  had  remarked  to  Neal  that  he  saw  him 
examining  the  rocks  over  which  their  trail  led 
during  the  afternoon. 

Neal  laughed  and  said:  "The  habit  has  got 
such  a  big  hold  on  me  that  it  is  the  strongest 
part  of  me  now,  I  guess.  I  found  a  little  piece 
of  galena  'float,'  and  was  trying  to  see  if  there 
was  any  more  of  it." 

11  Did  you  find  any  more?"  asked  Ken. 

"Yes,  I  found  a  little  more,  but  the  rock 
seems  very  lean.  It  did  n't  seem  to  me  worth 
spending  any  time  over.  This  locality  we  have 
been  in  for  the  last  few  days  seems  quite  barren 
of  mineral,  compared  to  the  district  south  of 
here." 

"  Neal  thinks  he  can  never  rest  contented  un 
til  he  makes  a  careful  examination  of  a  part  of 
the  county  that  he  was  in  a  year  ago.  He  wants 
me  to  turn  prospector  and  go  with  him  next 
year,"  said  Dave. 

"  And  do  you  think  of  doing  so?  "  asked  Ken. 


37 

"  No,  I  hardly  think  Neal  will  persuade  me," 
laughed  Dave.  "The  amusement  is  too  expen 
sive  for  a  young  man  with  a  career  to  make,  such 
as  I.  There  is  nobody  who  would  enjoy  finding 
a  good  mine  any  more  than  I  would,  though; 
and  when  Neal  gets  to  talking  in  his  positive  way 
about  the  great  things  that  are  going  to  be  found 
down  yonder,  I  feel  as  though  I  would  like  to 
start  right  off.  But  when  I  soberly  figure  up 
the  percentage  of  chances  the  average  person 
has  of  striking  anything,  my  judgment  says 
'  No.'  " 

Ken  then  turned  to  Neal  and  asked:  "What 
reason  have  you,  Neal,  for  supposing  that  im 
portant  discoveries  will  be  made  in  the  district 
Dave  refers  to?  " 

"Well,"  replied  Neal,  "I  believe  it  will  be 
found  to  be  a  rich  country  for  two  reasons.  I 
was  in  there  a  year  ago  and  I  never  in  my  life 
saw  as  much  rich  '  float  '  rock  lying  around  as 
there  is  there.  That,  I  suppose,  is  the  main 
thing.  But  there  is  something  else  I  look  at 
that  's  very  important  too.  It  's  high  up  in  the 
mountains,  with  only  ragged,  towering  rocks  and 
narrow  gulches,  and  although  that  will  make  it 
hard  work  to  get  about,  and  the  summer  season 
is,  of  course,  very  short,  still  these  objections  to 
the  prospector  are  offset  by  the  fact  that  what- 


3$  THE    Hid- HORN    TREASURE. 

ever  is  there  must  be  right  in  sight,  and  not 
covered  up  with  earth.  You  will  be  able  to  see 
and  trace  the  veins  even  at  a  distance. 

'  There  arc  veins  too,  and  large  ones,  because 
I  saw  the  quartz  '  float  '  carrying  mineral  that 
came  out  of  them.  I  am  going  down  there  next 
summer,  sure  thing;  that  is,  if  I  can  get  enough 
together  to  outfit  me  and  see  me  through." 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  persuade  Dave  to  go 
with  me,  for  selfish  reasons,  I  suppose.  I  know 
he  has  got  the  right  kind  of  stuff  in  him,  and  he 
is  the  kind  of  partner  I  would  like  to  have.  A 
man  needs  a  good  partner  in  that  sort  of  country. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  surely  would  n't  want 
Dave  to  go  with  me  if  I  didn't  feel  that  the 
chances  are  first  class  for  striking  something 
good. " 

"  I  am  sure  you  mean  just  what  you  say, 
Neal,"  said  Ken;  "but  why  didn't  you  stay 
long  enough  when  you  were  there  to  make  a 
careful  examination  of  the  country?" 

"It  was  late  in  the  season,"  replied  Neal. 
"  My  provisions  were  low  and  the  indications 
were  for  an  unusually  early  winter.  Snow  had 
already  begun  to  fall,  and  if  you  once  saw  the 
country  you  would  appreciate  what  it  would 
mean  to  be  snowed-up  there  when  not  prepared 
for  it." 


39 

''Dave,"  exclaimed  Ken,  "why  don't  you 
go  with  Neal  and  try  it?  " 

"  If  I  were  differently  situated,"  replied  Dave, 
"I  would  do  so.  I  have  ambition  enough  to 
carry  me  there  —  and  farther  too — but  Phil 
knows  how  I  am  placed." 

"  I  think  I  understand  you,  Dave,  and  I  hope 
you  will  pardon  me  for  questioning  you,"  said 
Ken. 

He  became  silent  for  a  few  minutes,  then  spoke 
again. 

"  Fellows,"  he  said,  "  I  am  going  to  propose 
something.  Now,  please  don't  misapprehend  my 
meaning.  This  is  strictly  a  business  proposition. 
Neal  has  aroused  my  curiosity  and  interest  in 
this  locality  of  his  to  such  an  extent  that  I  be 
lieve  I  would  offer  myself  to  him  as  a  chum  if  I 
did  n't  know  in  advance  that  he  would  reject 
me.  This  is  what  I  am  thinking  of,  Neal.  If 
Phil  and  I  will  agree  to  outfit  and  stake  you  and 
Dave,  will  you  give  us  an  interest  in  what  you 
find?  And,  Dave,  would  you  like  to  join  in  and 
go  with  Neal  under  such  conditions?  " 

Neal  was  the  first  to  reply,  and  said  simply, 
"  I  will,  and  thank  you  for  the  offer.  Will  you 
go,  Dave?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Dave,  "upon  one  condition. 
.  Ken  has  said  it  is  a  business  proposition.  Very 


40  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

well,  then,  we  will  be  equal  partners.  Ken  and 
Phil  furnishing  the  money,  you  and  I  will  do  the 
work,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  venture  —  if  any 
—  will  be  divided  equally  between  the  labor  and 
the  capital." 

"Oh!  no,"  said  Ken  eagerly,  "Phil  and  I 
could  n't  take  more  than  a  third  between  us. 
We  would  even  be  content  with  a  quarter." 

Both  Neal  and  Dave  then  spoke,  insisting  that 
it  should  be  an  equal  division. 

Up  to  this  time  Phil  had  remained  a  silent  lis 
tener.  Now  he  spoke,  saying,  "  I  think,  Ken,  it 
will  be  better  to  have  it  as  Dave  and  Neal  propose. 
I  know  they  will  be  better  satisfied." 

So  it  was  arranged  upon  that  basis  and  carried 
out  the  following  year. 

Dave  and  Neal  set  out  in  June.  It  was 
arranged  that  in  case  they  found  anything  of 
value,  they  were  to  endeavor  to  find  some  means 
of  sending  word  to  Denver,  and  that,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  news  received,  Phil  and  Ken 
would  set  out  to  join  them. 

About  the  first  of  August  Phil  received  a  brief 
letter  from  Dave.  It  was  dated  July  2Oth,  and 
read  as  follows : 

"DEAR  PHIL;  We  have  found  something.  The 
vein  is  six  feet  wide  at  the  surface  and  broadening 
as  we  go  in.  Neal  is  certain  that  it  is  high  grade 


41 

in  gold.  For  myself,  I  can't  say,  but  it  looks  flat 
tering.  Come  over,  both  of  you.  liring  a  portable 
assay  furnace  and  re-agents.  Take  the  train  to 
Bald  Eagle,  thence  by  Paradise  Valley  to  Porphyry 
Creek.  Follow  creek  northwesterly  about  twenty 
miles  to  the  ice  bridge.  Cross  over  and  you  will 
see  our  trail.  We  are  three  miles  beyond.  Come 
soon  as  possible.  Hastily  yours,  DAVE." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  "SLIDE"  — SANCHO'S  MISADVENTURE. 

The  precarious  nature  of  the  ground  over 
which  their  course  lay  made  conversation  be 
tween  the  boys,  for  a  time,  out  of  the  question. 
But  in  about  an  hour  they  reached  a  broad, 
comparatively  smooth  space  which,  although 
having  a  downward  inclination,  enabled  Ken  to 
drop  behind  the  burro  and  walk  beside  Phil. 

''How,  do  you  suppose,"  he  asked,  "we 
made  such  a  blunder  in  missing  the  trail?" 

"It's  my  fault,"  replied  Phil;  "I  ought  to 
have  stuck  to  the  plain  directions  in  Dave's  let 
ter,  and  not  have  strayed  away  —  and  made  you 
follow,  too  — in  a  chase  after  my  brilliant  and 
original  idea.  It  's  all  so  clear  now,  that  I  don't 
see  how  I  could  have  been  such  a  chump.  You 
noticed  that  Dave  repeated  in  his  flash-message 
—  what  he  had  told  us  before  in  his  letter  —  that 
we  must  keep  along  up  the  creek  to  the  '  ice 
bridge.'  As  we  didn't  see  any  ice  bridge,  we 
of  course,  left  the  creek  too  soon. 

"  I  did  n't  forget  any  part  of  the  letter,  and  was 
42 


TIIK  "SLIDE" — SANCHO'S  MISADVENTURE.  43 

on  the  lookout  for  the  bridge  up  to  the  point 
where  we  turned  away  from  the  stream.  At  that 
point,  you  remember,  we  came  to  a  steep  slope 
covered  with  loose,  sliding  shale-rock.  It  did  n't 
look,  to  me,  as  though  the  route  lay  across  there, 
or  hardly  as  though  anybody  could  cross  it  with 
a  burro  and  pack;  so  I  put  my  wonderful  think 
ing-machine  to  work,  and  reasoned  it  out  this  way. 

"'We  have  n't  found  the  ice  bridge,'  I  said 
to  myself,  "  but  the  warm  weather  since  Dave's 
letter  must  have  melted  it  away.  We  will  ford 
the  creek  here,  and  find  the  trail  on  the  other 
side. ' 

"Well,  you  knowr,  we  did  find  something 
that  looked  a  little  bit  like  a  trail,  and  kept  on 
going.  So,  here  we  are.  Dave  and  Neal  will 
give  me  a  great  laugh,  I  suppose." 

"  O,  well,  I  would  probably  have  done  just 
the  same  thing  if  I  had  been  leading,"  said  Ken 
generously.  "That  slope  with  the  sliding  rock 
was  a  place  which  no  prudent  man  \vould  be  in  a 
hurry  to  trifle  with,  and  it  was  natural  for  you 
to  conclude  that  the  trail  could  n't  run  across  it." 

"I  am  not  at  all  sure  you  would  have  made 
the  same  mistake,"  said  Phil1,  "but  you  are 
rather  consoling.  There  is  another  long  steep 
stretch  here,  and  I  suppose  one  of  us  will  have 
to  take  the  lead  again." 


44  TIII-:  BIG  HORN  TREASURE. 

"Yes,  I  will  go  ahead,"  responded  Ken,  and 
lie  at  once  sprang  forward  and  led  the  way  down 
the  rugged  and  winding  declivity. 

Another  hour,  or  more,  passed,  during  which 
there  was  no  further  chance  for  conversation. 

Finally  Ken  stopped,  calling  out,  "Whoa, 
Sancho !  "  Then,  as  Phil  came  up,  he  said: 

"It  is  just  below  here  that  we  crossed  the 
creek,  and  yonder,  on  the  other  side,  is  the  slide, 
which  I  suppose  we  will  have  to  creep  over, 
somehow. " 

"Yes,"  said  Phil,  pausing  for  a  careful  scru 
tiny  of  the  broad  stretch  of  sloping  mountain 
side  which  was  nearly  opposite  them,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  gulch,  "from  here,  it  doesn't 
look  very  bad,  either.  I  'm  more  and  more 
disgusted  !  " 

"  I  am  afraid  we  will  find  it  to  be  more  diffi 
cult  than  it  appears  from  this  point  of  view," 
said  Ken.  "Still,  I  hope  it  won't  prove  very 
bad." 

"Well,"  exclaimed  Phil  with  energy,  "the 
sooner  we  are  about  it,  the  quicker  we  will  know. 
If  the  other  boys  crossed  with  their  two  burros, 
it  ought  to  be  simple  with  one.  Come,  Sancho ! 
Down  you  go.  Here  's  a  chance  for  a  drink  and 
an  elegant  ice-cold  bath." 

The  creek  was  as  rapid  as  a  mill-race,   but  not 


THE  " SLIDE" — SAXCHO'S  MISADVENTURE.  45 

extremely  deep  nor  very  broad  at  this  point ; 
and  after  a  slippery  scramble  and  a  cold  wetting 
all  around,  they  were  shortly  upon  the  other  side 
and  climbing  the  mountain  slope. 

When  at  length  they  reached  the  place  from 
whence  they  had  turned  aside  in  the  forenoon, 
Phil  began  a  careful  examination  of  the  ground. 
He  went  some  distance  down  the  trail,  closely 
scrutinizing  the  ground  on  each  side,  above  and 
below,  but  he  at  length  returned,  saying:  "As 
far  as  the  indications  go,  the  trail  comes  squarely 
to  an  end  here  at  the  slide.  They  could  n't  rise 
into  the  air  and  fly,  so  they  must  have  gone 
across  on  foot,  eh,  Ken?" 

' '  There  's  no  doubt  about  that  now,  of  course, ' ' 
replied  Ken.  "They  went  across  right  here  at 
this  point,  and  the  reason  why  we  can  see  no 
trail  is  that  the  loose  shale  has  shifted  and  slid 
farther  down  hill  since  they  went  over.  Possi 
bly  it  moved  as  soon  as  they  entered  it."  Here 
upon  Ken  advanced  a  few  steps  along  the  slope 
among  the  rocks  and  debris.  "No,"  he  said, 
returning,  "it's  most  likely  that  the  stones 
did  n't  awake  to  life  and  animation  until  our  boys 
had  passed  over  and  beyond.  They  could  n't 
have  regarded  it  as  anything  to  be  afraid  of, 
though,  or  there  would  have  been  something 
said  about  it  in  the  letter  Dave  wrote.' 


46  THE  BK;-IIORX  TREASURE. 

"  O,  of  course  it  can't  be  anything  very  danger 
ous,"  said  Phil,  somwhat  impatiently.  "  We 
are  losing  time,  and  unless  we  lift  our  feet  lively 
we  may  have  a  night's  cold  comfort  somewhere 
along  the  side  of  the  mountain." 

''Yes,  there  's  no  use  in  delaying,"  returned 
Ken;  "but  before  we  start,  Phil,  I  want  to 
offer  a  suggestion.  There  is  a  feature  about  this 
place  which  I  think  you  have  n't  noticed,  nor  do 
I  believe  our  boys  saw  it  when  they  passed,  be 
cause  it  's  only  to  be  seen  from  the  other  side  of 
the  creek  where  we  have  been.  I  saw  it  just 
before  we  crossed.  This  loose  sliding  stuff  is, 
apparently,  some  five  or  six  hundred  feet  in 
width.  Now,  what  I  noticed  was  that  the  last 
half  of  it,  or  the  side  farthest  from  here,  instead 
of  continuing  to  slope  downward  to  the  bottom 
of  the  gulch,  breaks  off  in  an  abrupt  cliff  where 
the  creek  bends  inward.  When  the  slide  is  in 
motion  the  stuff  at  the  opposite  side  yonder  must 
make  a  clean  drop  of  three  hundred  feet  into  the 
creek  and  be  carried  below  by  the  swift  current. 
The  thing  for  us  to  do,  then,  is  to  try  to  work- 
diagonally  up  hill  all  the  way  over,  and  also  to  try 
and  pass  from  one  fixed  rock  to  another.  The 
largest  rocks  in  sight  look  to  me  as  if  they  were 
in  place.  I  will  go  ahead,  as  before,  and  you 
keep  Sancho  moving  from  one  rock  to  another." 


TIIK  "SLIDE"-— SANCHO'S  MISADVKNTI'RK.  47 

"All  right;  no  fear  but  what  I  '11  keep  him 
moving.  \Ye  're  in  need  of  moving.  Come." 

So  they  started.  For  one  half  the  way  the 
boys'  impressions  were  that  it  was  merely  some 
what  more  unpleasant  walking  than  usual.  The 
slope  was  nearly  thirty  degrees  from  the  hori 
zontal,  or  about  as  steep  as  loose  rock  could  lie 
upon,  and  there  was  nowhere  any  firm  or  secure 
footing.  Every  step  was  from  one  flat  or  irreg 
ular  piece  of  rock  to  another,  and  every  piece  of 
rock  thus  stepped  upon  invariably  slid  downward 
a  trifle.  As  they  were  working  their  way  in  an 
upward  direction,  so  as  to  overcome  the  ground 
lost  through  slipping,  it  was  necessarily  a  most 
laborous  task,  and  they  were  compelled  to  halt 
for  breath  and  strength  every  few  moments.  But 
the  boys  could  see  that  they  were  steadily  pro 
gressing,  and  the  stream  did  not  display  any  ap 
parent  tendency  to  flow;  so  that  Phil  was  almost 
upon  the  point  of  calling  out  to  Ken  that  they 
might  as  well  save  their  strength  by  moving  in  a 
horizontal  instead  of  an  upward  direction,  when 
Ken  turned  abruptly,  saying:  "This  rock  we 
are  on  now  is  in  place ;  it  is  a  part  of  the  moun 
tain  formation,  and  you  see  that  the  rock-stream, 
when  it  flows,  is  divided  here  by  a  sort  of  island. 
The  rest  of  the  way  is  undoubtedly  the  worst 
part,  for  it  not  only  seems  to  be  a  little  steeper, 


48  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

but  it  is  just  below  here  that  the  cliff  begins. 
Let  's  take  a  good  breath  and  make  up  our  minds 
to  get  across  with  as  little  stopping  to  rest  as 
possible.  If  it  does  n't  start  to  flow,  we  are  all 
right,  of  course;  but  if  it  does,  it  is  simply  a  ques 
tion  of  how  quickly  we  can  scramble  to  the  other 
side  in  order  to  save  our  necks.  Is  Sancho's 
cinch  all  right?  " 

"  Yes,  everything  is  O.  K.  Still,  I  doubt  if  so 
much  caution  is  necessary,  for  I  feel  sure  now 
that  we  are  easily  going  to  make  the  other  half 
without  any  trouble  at  all,"  returned  Phil. 

"  I  hope  you  are  right,  Phil,"  said  Ken.  "  I 
don't  doubt  but  we  shall  do  it,  but  a  little  fore 
thought  is  n't  going  to  do  any  harm.  Come, 
let  's  go.  If  the  stuff  begins  to  move,  remem- 

o  o 

ber  we  must  keep  our  footing  and  keep  striking 
out  for  the  other  side,  too,  as  fast  as  we  can. 
Sancho  wilt  be  the  worst  trouble." 

They  had  advanced  about  fifty  paces,  in  the 
same  order  and  manner  as  before,  when  some 
thing  seemed  to  give  way  below,  and  the  boys 
realized  that  they  were  sliding  steadily  down 
ward.  A  moment's  glance  around  told  them 
that  the  whole  mass  was  in  motion,  above,  be 
low,  and  around.  The  noise  —  which  was  a  com 
bined  rattling,  grinding,  and  crushing — quickly 
grew  into  a  roar,  and  Ken's  voice,  as  he  turned 


THE  "SLIDE" — SAXCIIO'S  MISADVENTURE.  49 

and  shouted  back  at  Phil,  did  not  reach  him. 
Phil  could  only  understand  by  his  gesture  and 
waving  arms  that  they  were  to  keep  moving  as 
fast  as  possible  toward  the  point  directly  oppo 
site  them.  Phil  struck  Sancho  sharply  and  re 
peatedly  to  urge  him  on,  and  the  faithful  little 
fellow, — wise  and  judicious  beyond  belief,  - 
without  a  trace  of  nervousness  or  fear,  strained 
to  the  fullest  to  quicken  his  speed.  They  were 
certainly  advancing,  but  they  were  also  as  cer 
tainly  sliding  with  irresistible  and  constantly  in 
creasing  speed  toward  they  knew  not  what. 
Suddenly  Sancho  stumbled  and  fell.  Phil  strug 
gled  to  his  assistance,  but  was  himself  thrown, 
and  lay  almost  helpless  until  Ken,  turning  about, 
seized  Sancho  by  the  head,  turned  it  up  hill,  and 
succeeded  in  helping  him  to  his  feet,  Phil  follow 
ing.  There  was  no  time  to  loosen  the  cinch,  or 

o 

even  to  cut  the  pack  loose,  and  nothnig  to  think 
of  but  to  get  beyond  reach  of  the  horrible  stream 
of  grinding  porphyry.  So  they  struggled  on, 
panting,  falling  again  and  again,  bruised,  nearly 
spent,  but  determined.  Then  Ken,  turning 
again,  pointed  below  them  to  a  line  where  every 
thing  was  broken  off  and  disappearing.  Throwing 
himself  to  the  rear,  he  seized  Phil's  hand  and 
struggled  onward  again,  leaving  the  burro  be 
hind  them.  The  flat  rocks  slipped  from  beneath 


50  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

as  their  feet  struck  them  ;  heavy  boulders,  which 
threatened  to  overwhelm  and  crush,  rolled 
past  them  and  against  their  limbs ;  now  Phil 
would  fall,  now  Ken,  but  they  staggered  on, 
while  the  resistless  chocolate-colored  current  bore 
them  steadily  downward. 

They  were  gliding  nearer  to  the  fearful  brink, 
and  the  roar  was  becoming  yet  more  deafening; 
but  nearer  also  was  their  approach  to  the  fringe 
of  upright  rocks  and  bushes  which  formed  the 
shore  of  the  river  that  was  neither  fluid  nor  solid. 
A  few  steps  more,  another  fall,  a  battling  strug 
gle  to  rise,  a  last  plunge  forward,  and  Ken's 
right  hand  seized  a  projecting  root  firmly  im 
bedded  in  the  bank. 

Phil  was  down,  and  almost  fainting  as  he  drew 
him  up, and  then  both  lay  prone  upon  solid  ground. 

Not  long  did  they  remain  thus  prostrate.  With 
their  returning  breath  came  renewed  anxiety  for 
Sancho  and  the  pack. 

The  intrinsic  value  of  the  bundle  which  Sancho 
bore  was,  to  the  boys,  vastly  greater  than  the 
poor  beast  himself,  but  their  humane  and  gener 
ous  instincts  were  uppermost  in  an  emergency 
like  this,  and  their  solicitude  was  chiefly  for  the 
donkey. 

That  small  but  stout-hearted  animal  had, 
meanwhile,  been  fighting  for  life  in  his  own  pe- 


1S& 


'THE    ROCKS    SLIPPED    FROM    BENEATH    THEIR    KEKT.' 


THE  "SLIDE"— SANCHO'S  MISADVENTURE.   53 

culiar  way.  With  a  methodical,  reasoning  judg 
ment,  in  marked  contrast  to  his  cousin  the 
horse  (of  whose  nervous  and  excitable  tempera 
ment  he  had  no  great  opinion),  the  overburdened 
and  weary  Sancho,  buffeted,  bruised,  and  fre 
quently  overturned  by  the  flinty  torrent,  but 
with  senses  all  alert,  kept  his  plodding  way  after 
his  masters. 

When  Ken  and  Phil  lay  gasping  for  breath  at 
the  edge  of  the  slide  the  donkey  had  been  car 
ried  farther  clown,  and  managed  to  reach  the 
margin  at  a  point  only  a  few  feet  above  the  brink 
of  the  cataract. 

The  channel  of  the  rock-flow  was  defined  at 
this  place  by  a  narrow  parallel  riclge  of  rock, 
which,  on  its  farther  side,  fell  away  sharply  tow 
ard  the  creek. 

Sancho  managed  to  drag  himself  from  the  mass 
of  sliding  rubbish,  and  to  obtain  here  a  precari 
ous  footing,  where,  shortly,  he  was  discovered 
by  the  boys,  who  set  up  a  joyful  shout. 

"  He  looks  rather  pensive,  but  seems  to  be 
sound  and  whole,"  said  Phil.  "  By  the  way, 
Ken,  are  you  hurt?  " 

"  No,  not  to  speak  of.  I  guess  there  must  be 
a  little  skin  gone  from  my  legs  and  elbows,  that  's 
all.  How  is  it  with  you?  " 

"  O,  I  'm  all  right,  except  my  disheveled  con- 


54  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

dition  and  the  damage  to  my  wardrobe.  I  '11 
bet,  though,  that  I  look  as  well  dressed  as  you 
do." 

The  boys  both  joined  in  a  hearty  laugh  at  each 
other's  forlorn  appearance,  and  suddenly  Phil 
said:  "  But  we  have  lost  a  lot  of  time,  and  have 
got  to  do  some  hard  climbing  too.  You  see, 
we've  been  carried  a  long  way  below  the  trail. 
We  must  get  Sancho  and  pull  out." 

Now,  whether  it  was  that  their  hard  experi 
ence  had  shaken  the  boys'  nerves  or  perceptions, 
they,  at  any  rate,  did  not  realize  the  full  sense 
of  Sancho's  dangerous  position,  nor  of  his  ex 
hausted  state.  So  that  when  Ken  undertook  to 
lead  him  away,  the  poor  burro  swayed,  made  one 
or  two  staggering  steps,  his  foot  slipped  from  the 
smooth,  slanting  rock,  and  he  plunged  down  the 
steep  descent  toward  the  creek  bed.  Ken  barely 
saved  himself  from  following,  and  Phil  shouted 
in  horror,  but  it  was  all  over  in  a  moment,  and 
Sancho  had  vanished  from  sight. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  burro  had 
fallen  clown  the  side  of  the  dividing  riclge  farthest 
away  from  the  slide.  The  conformation  here 
was  quite  different  from  that  of  the  cliff  over 
which  the  cataract  plunged,  the  elements  having 
molded  the  rocky  ridge  into  many  and  curious 
forms. 


THE  "SLIDE" —SANCHO'S  MISADYKNTTRK.   55 

There  were  sharp  spurs  projecting  horizontally, 
upright  pinnacles  quite  detached  from  the  ridge 
itself,  and  there  were  tortuous  and  steep-sloping 
ravines  that  bore  downward  toward  the  creek 
bed,  which  could  not  itself  be  seen  from  above. 

Sancho  had  rolled  clown  one  of  these  narrow 
and  winding  ravines  until  he  disappeared  from 
view;  and  as  it  seemed  that  the  ravine  must  end 
in  a  precipitous  cliff  over  which  he  would  be 
dashed  to  death,  the  boys  could  feel  no  doubt  of 
what  the  end  had  been,  as  the  creek  was  t\vo  or 
three  hundred  feet  below  them. 

"Poor  Sancho,"  said  Phil,  almost  with  tears 
in  his  eyes.  "  It  's  cruel,  after  making  such  a 
plucky  fight  for  life,  that  he  should  then  lose  it 
on  account  of  our  stupidity." 

"Yes,"  said  Ken,  "it  seems  entirely  wrong, 
and  it  is  a  great  misfortune  to  us  too.  We  must 
manage  somehow  to  clamber  down  there  and 
find  him,  whether  dead  or  alive,  and  see  what 
shape  the  pack  is  in.  There  is  a  bare  possible 
hope  that  he  may  be  living." 

"I  fear  the  hope  is  bare  indeed,"  replied 
Phil,  "but  we  must  go,  as  you  say.  We  will 
try  to  survey  the  ground  from  above  first." 

It  took  some  little  time,  and  the  boys  had  been 
trying  from  every  nook  and  point  of  vantage  to 
obtain  a  view  of  what  lay  below  them,  before 


56  THE    IMC -HORN"    TRKASrRK. 

Phil  at  length  shouted,  "I  see  him!  He  is 
about  half-way  down,  and  lying  flat  upon  a  little 
ledge  about  as  big  as  he  is. ' ' 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  Ken.  who  came  run 
ning  to  the  point  where  Phil  lay  with  his  body 
half  overhanging  the  space  below. 

"There,"  said  Phil,  pointing.  "It  must  have 
been  a  sharp  bend  in  the  ravine  that  snubbed  him 
and  broke  his  fall,  landing  him  where  he  is. 
He  's  still  got  his  pack;  but,  of  course,  the  poor 
little  fellow  is  dead.  No!  By  Jove!  He's 
alive!  "  yelled  Phil.  "  I  saw  his  ears  move,  and 
he  raised  his  head  a  little!  " 

"I  saw  it  too!"  cried  Ken  excitedly.  "It 
seems  impossible  that  he  could  roll  or  tumble 
down  so  far  and  live  through  it.  It  's  no 
stranger,  though,  than  that  he  should  have 
stopped  at  all  —  either  alive  or  dead  —  where  he 
is  now ;  for  it  looks  as  though  it  were  all  precipice 
below  him.  Come!  Let  's  find  a  way  to  get 
down  there  to  help  him ;  that  is,  if  there  is  any 
way." 

"He  's  moving  again,"  said  Phil.  "What  do 
you  suppose  he  is  going  to  do?" 

As  it  appeared  impossible  to  reach  the  donkey, 
the  boys  now  fell  to  watching  him  in  silence. 

All  who  are  familiar  with  the  characteristics  of 
the  burro  —  as  distinguished  from  those  of  the 


THE  "SLIDE" — SANCHO'S  MISADVENTURE.   57 

horse  —  know  that,  under  like  circumstances,  the 
horse  would  plunge  and  rear  until  he  had  thrown 
himself  to  destruction. 

Not  so  with  the  wiser  and  cooler-headed  animal. 

First,  he  stretched  out  his  feet  as  though 
cautiously  feeling  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
Then,  slightly  raising  his  head,  he  looked  about, 
as  far  as  he  was  able.  Then,  apparently  with 
the  most  careful  thought  and  judgment,  he 
placed  each  foot  where  it  would  find  the  most 
secure  holding,  and  with  a  good  deal  of  effort 
slowly  arose. 

Simultaneously  the  two  boys  broke  into  a 
cheer. 

"  Hurrah  for  you,  Sancho !  "  "Good  boy!" 
"We  '11  stay  with  you,  old  fellow!  " 

The  flow  of  rock  down  the  slide  had  about 
ceased,  and  the  noise  having  died  away,  the 
sound  of  their  voices  was  doubtless  borne  to 
Sancho.  At  least  his  ears  moved,  and  he  bent 
his  neck  slightly  as  if  listening,  but  he  could  not 
see  whence  the  shouts  came. 

"Come,  Ken,"  said  Phil,  "we  must  see  if 
there  is  a  way  to  get  to  him,  or  help  him  out  of 
that.  We  will  have  to  make  a  roundabout  tour, 
I  suppose.  It  won't  do  to  go  down  the  same  way 
he  did.  We  would  n't  be  likely  to  have  the 
same  luck." 


58  THE    Bid- HORN    TREASURE. 

"All  the  same,  we  must  find  the  quickest  way. 
The  afternoon  is  wearing  along  fast,"  replied 
Ken. 

Retracing  their  way  over  the  point  of  rocks, 
and  thence  along  the  hillside,  they  found  that  by 
turning  and  zigzagging  they  were  at  length  able 
to  reach  a  point  within  a  few  feet  of  where  the 
burro  stood. 

They  spoke  to  him,  and  he  looked  at  them 
with  patient  eyes  from  underneath  his  grizzled, 
shaggy  brows. 

He  seemed  to  say,  "Well,  I  've  done  the  best 
I  can,  and  you  will  have  to  do  the  rest.  I  've 
no  complaint  to  make,  but  you  know  I  did  n't 
come  here  of  my  accord." 

"  I  declare!  He  shames  me  by  looking  at  me 
that  way,"  said  Ken.  "  How  are  we  going  to 
do  now,  Phil?  " 

"That  's  more  than  I  can  say  just  now,"  re 
plied  Phil,  "beyond  the  fact  that  it  is  going  to 
be  impossible  to  get  him  out  of  that  place  to 
night.  There  are  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  between 
him  and  ourselves  that  even  ivc  can't  cross.  It 
does  n't  need  any  study  to  see  that  there  's  only 
one  possible  hope  for  the  poor  jack.  If  we  had 
one  or  two  steel-pointed  picks,  a  drill  and  ham 
mer,  and  a  little  giant-powder,  we  could  fix  a 
trail  so  that  he  could  be  led  away.  We  are 


THE  "SLIDE" — SAXCIIO'S  MISADVENTURE.   59 

miles  from  camp,  which  is  the  only  place  they 
can  be  had,  and  night  will  soon  be  here. 

ik  It  's  almost  heartbreaking  to  think  of  such  a 
thing;  but  we  simply  must  leave  him  to  take 
care  of  himself  until  to-morrow,  and  go  on  to 
meet  Dave." 

"  O  Phil!  "  said  Ken,  and  there  was  a  tremble 
in  his  voice,  "the  poor  little  beast  has  had 
nothing  to  eat  since  morning;  he  must  be  worn 

o  o  J 

out  with  fatigue,  to  say  nothing  of  the  knocks 
and  bruises,  and  now  to  talk  of  his  standing 
in  that  cramped  position,  with  the  heavy  pack 
on  his  back,  until  to-morrow!  Why,  it  's  fright 
ful!" 

"Yes,  yes,  Ken,  I  know  it.  It  would  be  in 
human  if  there  were  any  possible  way  for  us  to 
help  it.  But  is  there?  You  can  see  for  yourself 
there  is  n't.  So  we  must  just  go  on,  and  keep 
our  thoughts  rather  upon  some  way  of  helping 
him  in  the  morning,  than  on  the  pitifulness  of  it 
all.  Come!  Let's  go." 

"  I  believe  I  will  stay  here  with  him  until  you 
get  back  in  the  morning,"  said  Ken. 

"  O,  come  now;  talk  sense!"  retorted  Phil 
rather  sharply.  ' '  You  will  do  no  such  thing. 
Or,  at  least,  if  you  try  it  on,  you  will  compel  me 
to  stay  too;  for  I  shall  not  leave  you.  You  are 
about  worn  out  yourself.  You  would  get  to 


60  TIIK    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

dozing  and  roll  down  the  mountain  before  morn- 
iiv*.  Besides,  the  burro  will  be  no  safer  with 
than  without  you,  and  I  guarantee  he  will  pull 
through  it.  Come!  We  must  hurry." 

"Oh!  you  're  right,  Phil,  of  course;  but  it  's 
mighty  tough,"  said  Ken.  So  they  turned  and 
left  Sancho  without  looking  back. 

The  donkey  watched  them  until,  just  as  they 
were  disappearing  around  a  bend  in  the  cliff,  he 
gave  voice  to  one  of  his  hee-hawing,  deep,  long- 
drawn  brays,  which  to  the  boys  was  both  melan 
choly  and  reproachful. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MEETING— DINNER  AT  CAMP. 

The  boys  had  no  difficulty  in  locating  the  trail 
where  it  emerged  from  the  rock-slide,  and  fol 
lowed  it  northward  in  silence  and  with  rapid 
footsteps. 

They  were  so  anxious  and  distraught  that  even 
the  remarkable  features  of  the  region  through 
which  they  were  passing,  which  ordinarily  would 
have  aroused  their  keenest  interest,  were  scarcely 
noticed. 

They  were  passing  "through"  in  a  literal 
sense,  as  their  trail  now  fairly  clung  to  the  side 
of  the  cliff,  which  towered  overhead  to  an  un 
known  height,  and  almost  directly  beneath  them 
flashed  the  thread  of  the  creek,  while  across  at 
their  left  the  ragged,  frowning,  gray  precipice 
seemed  to  lift  itself  into  the  very  clouds. 

The  canon  had  narrowed  and  closed  in  upon 
the  creek  until  it  almost  seemed  as  though  the 
sole  illumination  were  merely  the  reflected  rays 
from  the  glistening  white-caps  of  the  mountains. 

Once  only  did  Ken  warm  to  something  like 
61 


02  THE    IJIG-HORX    TRKASURK. 

enthusiasm.  It  was  when,  after  rounding  a 
curve,  the  brilliant  view  of  a  waterfall  burst  upon 
them.  It  left  the  snow  bank  upon  the  opposite 
mountain,  apparently  as  a  single  line  of  silver, 
broadening  as  it  descended  into  an  exquisite  lace- 
like  pattern,  then  merging  into  thin  bluish  veil 
ing,  until  at  their  level  it  became  light,  broadly 
d  iff  used  mist. 

Half-way  toward  the  top,  upon  an  almost  im 
perceptible  ledge,  a  family  group  of  big-horned 
cimarrons  —  or  mountain  sheep  —  looked  with 
grave  curiosity  down  upon  them,  and  \vithout  a 
trace  of  fear. 

<k  It  is  immense;  it  is  grandly  impressive;  but 
just  now  my  spirits  will  not  rise  to  a  height  which 
will  permit  me  to  say  beautiful,"  said  Ken. 

''No,  we  must  take  another  day  for  that," 
replied  Phil. 

Another  half-hour,  and  the  canon  had  percep 
tibly  widened,  while  the  trail  had  approached 
more  nearly  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulch.  Not 
that  their  way  had  been  a  descending  one  ;  rather 
the  bed  of  the  creek  had  been  rising  to  them  as 
they  advanced  toward  its  source. 

A  short  distance  farther,  a  few  more  turns  and 
twists,  and  Phil  suddenly  said:  tl  I  believe  we 
have  found  the  ice  bridge  at  last.  It  must  be 
that  great  body  of  snow  and  ice  up  yonder,  which 


MEETING DINNER    AT    CAMP.  63 

stretches  clear  across  the  creek.  It  came  down 
as  an  avalanche  from  the  mountain,  of  course, — 
there  's  its  path  now, —  and  the  creek  has  tun 
neled  its  way  underneath  it." 

"  Yes,  Phil,  that  's  interesting;  but  who  is  the 
man  there?"  asked  Ken. 

"Where?  O,  I  see!  sitting  down !  Why,  it 
must  be  Dave!  "  Phil  put  his  thumb  and  fore 
finger  to  his  lips  and  blew  a  shrill  whistle.  In 
stantly  the  figure  sprang  to  its  feet,  gazed  at 
them  an  instant,  then  answered  with  a  shout,  and 
came  running  toward  them  across  the  bridge. 

Phil  shouted  in  return,  and  likewise  broke  into 
a  run,  closely  followed  by  Ken. 

At  the  meeting,  and  first  warm  hand-shaking, 
all  began  to  talk  at  once.  "  Just  like  women," 
laughed  Dave.  "  But,  say,  boys,  what  's  hap 
pened?  Where  's  your  burro  and  pack?  " 

11  You  tell  it,  Phil,"  said  Ken.  Whereupon 
Phil  rapidly  recounted  their  rough  experience, 
and  explained  the  present  whereabouts  of  San- 
cho.  "Why,  we  had  no  trouble  there,"  cried 
Dave,  "  and  had  no  thought  of  its  being  any  more 
dangerous  than  a  score  of  other  places.  They 
are  all  comparatively  dangerous,  for  that  matter. 
Strange  that  the  slide  should  have  let  us  pass  in 
safety  and  then  treat  you  so ! 

"Yes,    it's  curious,"  said   Ken;    "but  I  sup- 


64  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

pose  there  must  be  a  natural  cause  behind  it, 
somewhere.  I  presume  the  only  thing  that 
caused  us  to  suspect  danger  in  advance  came 
through  missing  your  trail,  which  had  been  plain 
enough  before,  but  vanished  there  completely." 

"  What  do  you  think,  Dave?  is  there  a  possi 
bility  of  doing  anything  for  the  burro  to-night?  " 
asked  Phil. 

"  That  's  out  of  the  question,"  replied  Dave. 
"  It's  at  least  four  miles  back,  and  three  from 
here  to  camp.  We  can  make  camp  before  dark, 
but  nothing  more.  I  would  join  you  at  any  risk, 
if  there  was  a  show  at  all.  I  don't  envy  Sancho 
the  night  he  will  have  to  pass,  but  I  know  enough 
about  the  endurance  of  the  average  jack  to  assure 
.me  that  we  will  find  him  right  there  to-morrow. 
What  sort  of  shape  do  you  fancy  the  pack  is  in? 
I  am  anxious  about  that  assay  outfit." 

"  It  's  not  easy  to  say,  but  I  think  it  will  be 
all  right.  Everything  breakable  was  well 
packed,"  said  Phil. 

"  Well,  '  march'  is  the  word  now.  If  you  are 
not  already  hungry,  you  will  be  before  we  get 
supper.  Neal  will  have  it  all  ready  when  we  ar 
rive,  though  ;  you  may  be  sure  of  that." 

So  saying,  Dave  started  up  the  trail  and  Phil 
and  Ken  followed. 

As  it  was  all   uphill   work,    and   the   climbing 


MEETING  —  DINNER    AT    CAMP.  65 

even  more  laborious,  in  some  respects,  than  that 
which  had  gone  before,  Ken  and  Phil  were  more 
than  thankful  when  Dave  at  length  called  cheer 
fully  back  to  them,  "  Here  we  are,  and  just  in 
time  too.  It  will  be  dark  in  a  very  few  minutes. 
That  's  why  I  rushed  you  up  here  at  such  a  pace. 
You  saw  enough  of  the  trail  to  realize  what  it 
would  be  in  the  night-time;  and  I  think  none  of 
us  needed  that  additional  experience  to-day. 
We  won't  bother  about  any  of  the  landscape 
features  until  to-morrow.  Fine  as  they  are,  they 
must  bide  their  time." 

The  others  made  but  faint  response  to  Dave's 
pleasantries,  being,  in  truth,  so  far  spent  with 
weariness  and  hunger  that  their  senses  were 
somewhat  blunted.  This  fact  was  quite  evident 
to  Dave,  who  therefore,  led  the  way  directly  to 
the  camp,  first  announcing  their  arrival  to  Neal 
by  a  loud  whistle. 

Ncal  quickly  answered,  and  in  a  minute  more 
they  were  all  exchanging  greetings. 

"The  first  thing  now,"  said  Dave,  "  is  sup 
per.  The  boys  are  so  starved  and  winded  that 
they  must  be  excused  from  all  social  duty  until 
they  have  a  chance  to  renew  themselves." 

11  All  right,  boys,"  returned  Neal  in  his  hearty, 
pleasant  voice,  "  supper  is  just  about  ready,  all 
but  the  coffee,  and  it  will  be  better  for  you  to 


66  T1IK    BIC--1IORX    TRKASURK. 

rest  a  bit  before  eating,  anyway.  The  more 
careful  people  are  about  eating,  'specially  when 
they  're  very  tired,  the  better  for  digestion  and 
sleep.  Not  that  I  \\  preach  against  eating  a 
plenty.  When  you  're  hungry,  eat  to  the  end  of 
your  appetite,  I  say,  but  use  a  little  judgment 
how  you  eat.  No  danger  of  overeating  here  to 
night,  I  guess.  Variety  too  limited.  Dave, 
you '11  show  the  boys  to  the  toilet-room,  won't 
you,  in  case  they  want  to  brush  up?  " 

Ken  and  Phil  meanwhile  had  thrown  them 
selves  upon  the  blankets  inside  one  of  the  tents, 
whither  Dave  had  conducted  them. 

The  tent-flaps  were  thrown  up  to  admit  the 
light  and  warmth  of  the  fire,  just  in  front,  where 
Neal  was  superintending  the  supper. 

The  rest  to  their  limbs  was  so  grateful,  the 
scene  so  pleasant  and  familiar  to  them,  the  sound 
of  Neal's  voice  so  agreeable,  and  the  odor  of  the 
supper  so  appetizing,  that  they  both  forgot  and 
temporarily  threw  off  their  weight  of  care. 

After  resting  a  few  minutes,  Phil  arose,  saying: 
"  I  think  I  '11  try  the  water-cure  that  Neal  speaks 
of.  What  do  you  say,  Ken?  By  the  way,  there 
can't  be  any  scarcity  of  water  here,  to  judge 
from  the  lake  and  the  waterfall  we  saw  from  the 
other  side.  Is  that  the  sound  of  the  fall  we  hear 
now?  " 


MEKTINC  —  DINNER    AT    CAMP.  67 

"Yes,  that  is  music  we  always  have,"  replied 
Dave;  "  we  think  it  is  rather  pleasant." 

"I  'm  sure  I  should  never  grow  tired  of  it," 
said  Ken. 

"Supper's  ready,"  called  Neal;  and,  hastily 
completing  their  toilets,  the  boys  assembled  by 
the  fire. 

"Take  the  bench  at  the  table  there,  boys," 
said  Neal.  '  *  Sit  down ,  Dave,  I  '11  do  the  waiting. 

"Why,  this  is  genuine  luxury!"  exclaimed 
Phil,  as  they  seated  themselves  at  the  open-air 
table  facing  the  camp-fire. 

"  What?  The  table  and  seats?  O,  well,  I  think 
a  little  labor  of  that  sort  is  well  spent.  There  's 
no  sense  in  making  a  circus  performance  of  your 
meals,  when  you  can  just  as  well  do  them  up 
comfortable. 

"Help  yourselves  to  the  meat  and  biscuits. 
Here  's  mutton-chops  and  here  's  bacon.  'm 
glad  you  came  just  when  you  did,  or  my  biscuits 
might  have  spoiled.  I  guess  they  '11  do.  Will 
you  have  some  beans,  Ken?  We  haven't  any 
jelly  to  go  with  the  mutton,  but  here  's  some 
prime  stewed  shad-berries.  Have  sugar  in  your 
coffee,  Phil?  There  is  cold  bread  if  you  rather 
have  it  than  the  biscuits." 

"  What  a  glorious  supper!  "  cried  Ken.  :<  But 
what  do  you  mean  by  mutton,  Neal?  " 


68  THE    BIG-  HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Wild  mutton.  It's  mountain  sheep,"  said 
Neal.  "  Dave  got  him  last  week." 

"Isn't  it  delicious?  I  never  ate  venison  to 
compare  with  it.  There  must  be  a  good  many 
about  here.  We  saw  some  to-day.  You  re 
member  it  was  one  of  my  ambitions  last  summer 
to  get  one ;  but  although  I  shot  almost  every 
thing  else,  I  did  n't  get  sight  of  a  sheep.  Say, 
Phil,  did  you  ever  cat  as  fine  a  supper  as  this 
before  ?  ' ' 

"Not  so  far  as  I  can  remember,"  answered 
Phil.  "  I  knew  you  were  an  artist  at  cookery, 
Neal,  but  this  is  immense." 

"  Hold  on  there,  fellows;  you  will  make  Neal 
vain!  "  interposed  Dave. 

"Yes,  I  s'pose  you  will  be  likely  to  stay  here 
some  time,  and  you  ought  to  be  careful  what  you 
say.  Maybe  you  '11  want  to  take  it  back  after 
a  while,"  laughed  Neal.  "  Have  some  more  of 
the  mutton?  No?  Well,  you  must  have  some 
dessert;  it  's  plain,  but  wholesome.  Boiled  rice 
served  with  a  fruit  sauce.  Call  it  riz  aux  pommcs 
if  you  think  the  name  will  dovetail  in  with  the 
dried  apple  sauce,  the  tin  plates,  and  iron  spoons. " 

"It's  delicious,"  said  Ken,  as  he  tasted  it. 
"A  very  proper  ending  to  a  meal  good  enough 
for  an  epicure. " 

"Neal,"  said   Phil,   as  he  finished   and   rested 


MICETIXC; —  DIXXKR    AT    CAMP.  69 

from  his  exertions,  "  I  feel  like  another  person; 
and  I  owe  you  a  heavy  debt  that  I  will  try  and 
pay  sometime,  when  you  teach  me  how  to  cook." 

"  All  right,  Phil;  I  '11  be  easy  with  you  about 
the  debt,"  replied  Neal.  "Now,  I  want  credit 
for  not  asking  a  single  question  about  your  trip, 
and  I  'm  dying  to  hear.  Let  's  have  the  story." 

"The  boys  had  hard  luck,  Neal,"  interposed 
Dave.  "  They  are  afraid  they  've  lost  their  jack, 
and  are  all  broken  up  over  it.  I  think,  myself, 
that  we  will  fetch  him  out  all  right;  but  we  are 
going  to  strike  out  at  daybreak  with  one  of  our 
animals,  some  tools  and  powder,  a  water-bucket, 
a  hundred  feet  of  line,  and  a  little  bunch  of  grass. 
We  've  got  to  construct  a  high-line  road  for 
Sancho's  exclusive  use.  We  '11  give  you  the  de 
tails  after  we  get  back.  I  must  get  everything 
ready  to-night." 

"All  right,  Davey  boy,  I'll  help  you  soon  as 
I  get  these  supper  things  out  of  the  way  and  the 
kinks  all  settled  for  an  early  breakfast.  You  '11 
wrant  me  to  go  with  you?  " 

"  No,  we  three  will  go.  It  will  be  better  not 
to  leave  the  camp  alone,  considering  the  value 
of  our  '  find.'  ' 

"Hadn't  I  better  go  in  your  place,  then?" 
asked  Neal. 

"  No,  I  will  go,"  Dave  replied. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  FOUR-FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST— THE    RESCUE. 

The  party  of  three,  with  burro,  tools,  and 
paraphernalia,  was  upon  its  way  down  the  trail 
long  before  the  sun  emerged  from  behind  the 
maroon-colored  mountains  to  the  eastward,  and 
before  nine  o'clock  had  arrived  at  the  place 
where  Phil  and  Ken  left  poor  Sancho. 

The  anxiety  of  each  was  so  great  that  no  word 
was  spoken  as  to  their  hopes  and  fears. 

Ken  led  the  way  down  the  zigzag  descent  from 
the  trail,  and  Dave  and  Phil  followed  more 
slowly  with  the  burro. 

Ken,  with  knitted  brows  and  impatient  foot 
steps,  had  advanced  until  hidden  from  the  sight 
of  the  others,  and  coming  at  last  to  the  final  turn 
from  whence  the  looked-for  animal  became  visi 
ble,  he  hardly  dared  believe  his  eyes. 

There  stood  Sancho,  looking  scarcely  more 
drooping  and  unsteady  than  when  he  arose  to  his 
feet  the  afternoon  before. 

"Bless  your  heart,  Sancho!  I  'm  glad  to  see 
you,  old  boy!  "  he  shouted. 

70 


A    FOUR-FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  71 

Whereupon  Sancho  bent  his  long  ears,  scanned 
him  an  instant,  and  gave  forth  the  same  plaintive 
bray  as  his  parting  salute  of  the  evening  before. 

This  was  heard  by  the  party  in  the  rear,  who 
gave  answering  shouts.  Even  their  burro  re 
sponded  in  a  sympathetic  and  kindred  vein. 

Reaching  the  farthest  limit  of  approach,  all 
hands  set  to  work  without  losing  a  minute  of 
time.  The  rock  being  shaly  and  partly  decom 
posed,  a  level  pathway  of  two  or  more  feet  in 
width  was  speedily  wrought  out  from  the  smooth, 
slanting  surface.  Only  one  small  charge  of 
powder  was  necessary,  all  the  rest  of  the  work 
being  accomplished  with  their  sharp  steel  picks. 

In  less  than  an  hour's  time  Ken  was  across 
the  space  and  had  a  rope  around  Sancho's  neck. 
It  needed  but  a  single  word  of  command  to  the 
donkey  to  start  him,  and  in  another  minute  he 
had  reached  the  safety-point,  and  the  boys  were 
unroping  the  pack. 

Dave,  however,  —  thoughtful  as  always, — had 
hastily  tied  his  long  line  to  a  bucket,  and  creep 
ing  to  the  verge  of  the  cliff,  dropped  it  into  the 
creek  below.  A  minute  more  it  reappeared 
filled  to  the  brim  with  ice-cold  sparkling  water, 
and  Sancho's  troubles,  for  the  time  being,  were 
ended. 

After  placing  the  bunch  of  green  grass  before 


72  THK    BIG-HORN    TRKASTRK. 

the  hungry  donkey,  Dave,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  others,  turned  his  attention  to  the  contents 
of  the  pack. 

The  object  of  his  greatest  solicitude  was  the 
assay  furnace  and  its  accompanying  re-agents. 

After  a  careful  scrutiny,  he  announced  with 
great  satisfaction,  that  there  was  no  damage  to 
anything  except  a  few  scorifiers  and  crucibles, 
which  were  broken. 

"There  will  still  be  more  than  enough  for  our 
needs,"  he  said.  "I  was  especially  anxious 
about  the  muffle ;  but  you  had  it  placed  inside  the 
furnace,  as  it  should  be,  and  it  has  come  through 
without  a  scratch.  If  you  ever  attempt  to  relate 
this  adventure  to  anybody  outside  the  mountains, 
don't  expect  to  be  believed.  Sancho  would 
make  your  fortunes  as  trick-donkey  in  a  circus. 
He  is  a  wizard. 

The  boys  laughed  in  light-hearted  amusement 
over  Dave's  speech,  and  turned  their  attention 
acrain  to  the  hero.  No  donkey  was  ever  the  re- 

o  •" 

cipient  of  more  petting  and  complimentary  ex 
pressions  than  he. 

He  was  found  to  have  several  cuts  and  some 
very  severe  bruises  from  contact  with  the  sharp 

*This  incident  is  not  only  a  real  one,  but  the  actual 
occurrence  was  even  more  strange  than  has  been  related. 
The  writer  has  purposely  trimmed  it  down,  in  order  that  it 
may  not  be  criticised  as  absurd. 


ANOTHER    MINl'TE    HE    HAD    REACHED    'I  HE    SAFETY    I'OlNT, 


A    FOUR-FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  /5 

rocks,  but  Dave  declared  he  would  be  as  good  as 
new  after  he  had  had  a  week's  "  lay-off  "  at  the 
camp. 

"The  pack  is  what  really  broke  his  fall,  and 
prevented  him  from  going  over  the  precipice," 
said  Dave.  "After  he  finishes  his  lunch  we 
will  let  him  lie  and  rest  a  short  time,  after  which 
we  will  put  the  pack  on  Teddy  and  start  back 
for  camp." 

This  plan  was  carried  out  so  well  that  with 
diligence,  but  without  haste  or  extra  effort,  they 
arrived  at  the  camp  early  in  the  afternoon. 

Neal  had  dinner  ready  and  waiting  when  the 
party  arrived. 

As  a  change  from  the  previous  evening's  fare, 
there  was  a  delicate  and  tender  pot-roast  of  the 
wild  sheep,  new  bread,  and  for  dessert,  apple 
roll,  or  "duff,"  eaten  with  syrup. 

"Circumstances  don't  allow  much  change  in 
our  grub,  or  in  the  style  of  throwing  it  onto  the 
table,"  said  Neal,  in  a  half-apologetic  way. 

"  O,  we  found  out  last  summer  that  the  boys 
can  fit  themselves  into  a  situation  as  well  as  any 
body,"  said  Dave.  "  They  realize  that  we  are 
here  for  work,  this  time,  and  that  eating  is  merely 
a  necessity  of  life.  To  have  enough  food  to 
satisfy  hunger  is  about  the  only  care  Neal  and 
I  have  given  in  that  direction.  We  spend  very 


/6  TUP:  BIG-IIORX  TRKASURK. 

little  time  in  camp,  and  a  great  deal  at  work  upon 
the  'prospect.'  You  see,  we  will  have  to  re 
gard  you,  not  as  guests,  now,  but  as  partners 
and  fellow-sufferers. 

"  That  is  the  way  we  want  you  to  regard  us," 
said  Ken.  "  There  isn't  likely  to  be  much  suf 
fering  about  it,  either;  and  for  my  part,  I  intend 
to  learn  to  cook,  too,  and  take  my  share  of  all  the 
rest  of  the  duties." 

11  I  'm  to  be  counted  in  for  the  whole  pro 
gramme,  too,"  cried  Phil.  "There's  going  to 
be  no  favoritism  here." 

"As  far  as  this  dinner  is  concerned, "  added 
Ken,  "  it  seems  to  me  even  better  than  last 
night's.  I  can  be  happy  and  thrive  under  this 
diet  for  many  months  to  come.  I  only  hope 
that  I  can  learn  to  cook  half  as  well  as  Neal. 
Just  now,  though,  I  am  burning  up  with  curi 
osity  about  the  discovery,  and  everything  in  con 
nection  with  it.  Are  you  ready  to  show  us  the 
elephant?  Do  you  really  feel  quite  sure  that  you 
have  found  a  rich  mine?  " 

Neal  and  Dave  exchanged  meaning  smiles. 

"  Where  are  some  of  the  rocks,  Neal?  "  asked 
Dave. 

"I  '11  get  them,"  was  the  reply. 

Neal  disappeared  within  one  of  the  tents,  and 
returned  in  a  minute  with  a  gunnysack.  It  was 


A    FOUR-  FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  /7 

evidently  heavy,  as  he  used  both  hands  in  carry 
ing  it.  Dropping  it  upon  the  ground,  he  seized  a 
canvas  pack-cover  and  spread  it  out.  Then, 
taking  the  sack  by  its  lower  corners,  he  emptied 
its  contents  upon  the  canvas. 

There  were  about  fifteen  or  twenty  pieces  of 
grayish  white  rock  covered  with  shining  yellow 
spots.  Neal  handed  one  each  to  Phil  and  Ken, 
saying,  "  That  's  the  quartz  article  we  are  get- 
tin<r  and  it  's  no  weak  imitation,  either." 

fc> ' 

Both  boys  cried  out  in  amazement. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  yellow  stuff  is 
gold?  "  asked  Ken. 

11  Yes,  largely  pure.  At  least,  as  pure  as  it  is 
generally  found  in  the  natural  state.  I  think  the 
native  gold  must  be  as  high  as  eighteen  dollars 
to  the  ounce.  Besides  the  free  gold,  there  is  a 
combination  here  called  '  telluride.'  It  is  a 
union  of  gold  with  tellurium." 

"  Why,  the    rock    is   fairly    ablaze!"    shouted 

Phil. 

He  took  up  the  pieces  one  after  another,  ex 
amined  them  with  dilated  eyes,  and  passed  them 
to  Ken. 

"I  never  saw  anything  so  wonderful !"  said 
he.  "What  value  do  you  place  upon  this  lot, 
Neal?" 

"These  pieces  weigh,  together,  about  a  hun- 


7<S  THE    BKi-lIORX    TREASURE. 

tired  pounds,  and  I  estimate  that  there  's  about  a 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold  in  them." 

"  Man  alive!  That  's  twenty  thousand  dollars 
to  the  ton!  "  exclaimed  Ken. 

Neal  laughed  with  great  amusement.  "Yes, 
that's  about  the  rate,"  he  said,  "and  if  we 
should  feel  like  turning  ourselves  into  '  promot 
ers,'  capitalize  our  property  for  a  three-million- 
dollar  figure,  and  undertake  to  sell  stock,  about 
the  first  thing  we  would  do  would  be  to  take  up 
that  '  catch-phrase'  you  just  used.  But,  you  see, 
Ken,  we  haven't  even  one  ton  of  it  yet;  and 
maybe  never  will  have.  There  's  hardly  one 
chance  in  a  thousand  that  it  will  stay  with  us  as 
rich  as  this.  Still,  I  'm  bound  to  say,  that  every 
indication  about  the  vein  and  the  rock  it  's  in, 
gives  promise  of  being  a  first-class  property.  We 
will  be  able  to  guess  better  after  knowing  how  it 
assays. 

' '  Where  is  this  wonderful  treasure-box?  Come  ! 
I  've  got  to  see  it!  "  exclaimed  Ken  with  energy. 

Whereupon  the  whole  party  proceeded  to  the 
mine,  or  "prospect,"  as  Neal  and  Dave  called 
it. 

".If  you  had  arrived  three  clays  ago  we 
could  n't  have  shown  you  as  much  '  richness  '  as 
we  can  now,"  said  Neal.  "  We  have  only  just 
struck  this  pocket.  We  knew  we  had  a  promis- 


A    FOUR-  KOOTKI)    CONTORTIONIST.  79 

ing  vein,  and  we  found  free  gold  by  crushing  the 
rock  and  washing  it  in  a  pan,  but  there  wasn't 
much  in  the  quartz  to  be  seen  with  the  naked 
eye.  Here  it  is!  We  are  working  into  the  vein 
by  the  tunnel. " 

"  How  far  are  you  in?  "  inquired  Phil. 

"  About  thirty-five  feet.  Look  up  the  face  of 
the  cliff  there,  and  you  can  see  how  plain  the 
seam  stands  out,  and  that  it  runs  up  as  far  as  you 
can  see.  It  is  about  six  feet  wide,  and  seems  to 
run  right  through  the  mountain  in  a  nearly  north- 
and-south  course.  I  don't  know  why  it  is,  but 
it  seems  as  if  most  of  the  rich  and  permanent 
veins  trend  the  same  way." 

''But  did  you  climb  away  up  here  upon  un 
certainty  before  you  found  it?"  asked  Ken. 

"No,  not  altogether.  We  had  camped  down 
near  the  ice  bridge,  and  I  wandered  off  up  the 
valley,  keeping  well  toward  the  creek.  When  I 
got  to  a  point  opposite  here  (and  about  fifteen 
hundred  feet  nearly  underneath),  I  found  a  lot  of 
rich  float.  It  was  easy  to  trace  it  here;  and,  in 
fact,  the  lode  is  as  plain  most  of  the  way  down 
the  cliff  below  us  as  it  is  above.  It  is  handier 
to  work  here;  but  my  theory  is,  that  we  're  liable 
to  find  it,  maybe,  even  richer  below  than  above. 
Some  time,  when  I  get  really  wound  up  for  talk 
ing,  I  '11  tell  you  why." 


80  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

"The  rock  that  forms  the  cliff  here  seems  to 
be  a  sort  of  porphyry,"  remarked  Phil. 

"Yes,  this  whole  district  seems  to  be  porphy- 
ritic.  It  ain't  easy,  though,  for  me  to  classify 
this  particular  mountain.  The  native  rock  seems 
to  me  to  be  a  sort  of  volcanic  quartzite,  but 
Dave  calls  it  porphyrite.  I  'm  beginning  to 
think  they  run  into  each  other,  and  that  you  can 
call  the  stuff  either  one.  I  can  show  you,  too, 
where  our  vein  intersects  schists  and  shales,  and 
other  sedimentary  and  metamorphic  rocks.  That's 
in  our  favor.  At  least  I  think  so;  and  so  does 
Dave.  You  see,  we  keep  comparing  notes  all 
the  time.  I  give  Dave  my  ideas,  got  mostly 
from  grubbing  'round  'mongst  the  hills,  and  he 
gives  me  things  he  's  got  from  books.  Most  of 
these  big  words  I  use,  I  borrowed  from  him." 

Neal  laughed  gaily,  and  Dave  smiled.  It  was 
very  evident  how  much  they  thought  of  each 
other. 

"Come,  "said  Dave.  "We  will  go  on  into 
the  tunnel." 

The  mouth  of  the  tunnel  was  nearly  six  feet 
square,  and  opened  directly  into  the  side  of  the 
cliff. 

The  "ceiling,"  or  roof,  was  timbered;  that  is, 
there  were  rough  pieces  of  wood  placed  across, 
close  together,  and  supported  by  upright  timbers. 


A    FOUR-FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  8 1 

This  was  to  prevent  the  loosened  ore  or  rock 
from  falling  upon  the  workers. 

"We  started  the  tunnel  at  the  full  width  of 
the  vein,  and  took  out  everything  between  the 
two  walls,"  said  Dave,  "  but  it  is  widening  some 
what,  and  we  will  not  be  able  to  increase  the 
width  of  the  tunnel." 

Dave  drew  a  candle  from  a  niche  in  the  rock, 
and  lighted  it,  and  then  led  the  way  inside,  say 
ing,  "You  won't  be  able  to  see  any  ore  except 
right  at  the  end,  or  'breast,'  as  we  have  taken  it 
all  out  as  we  went  in." 

When  they  reached  the  end,  he  held  his  candle 
so  as  to  produce  the  best  effect.  "Come  up 
close,  boys,  and  examine  it,"  he  said. 

More  than  half  of  the  breast  was  aglitter  with 
the  same  quality  of  ore  as  the  pieces  they  had 
seen. 

"Isn't  it  magnificent?"  cried  Phil,  his  voice 
betraying  his  strong  excitement.  "I  don't 
know  much  about  mines,  Neal,  but  you  will  find 
it  pretty  hard  to  convince  me  that  what  is  in 
sight  here  is  n't  a  promise  of  a  great  fortune. 
Don't  you  think  so,  Ken?" 

"  It  certainly  looks  to  me  as  if  we  had  a  great 
mine,"  replied  Ken. 

"  I  've  no  wrish  to  make  you  think  the  con 
trary,  you  may  be  sure,"  said  Neal  laughingly. 


82  T1IK    15IG-IIORX    TREASURE. 

"But,  while  my  hopes  are  pretty  big  over  this 
thing,  it  ain't  a  good  idea  to  feel  too  dead  sure 
about  a  thing  until  you  've  got  it;  and  after 
a  while,  maybe,  with  the  help  of  Dave's  education 
and  my  pocket-dictionary,  I  '11  try  to  explain 
how  it  might  disappoint  us  yet." 

"  Is  the  rock  hard  to  work?  "  asked  Ken. 

"No,"  replied  Dave,  "it  is  rather  soft.  We 
have  n't  made  great  progress,  because  we  have  n't 
been  as  well  equipped  for  working  a  mine  as  for 
finding  one.  What  with  carrying  the  stuff  out 
to  the  dump  on  a  hand-barrow,  and  trying  to 
keep  drills  sharp  without  a  forge,  it  uses  up  the 
day  pretty  snug.  I  think  all  four  of  us  working 
together  can  move  along  at  the  rate  of  six  to 
eight  feet  a  day, — at  least,  as  the  rock  is  now 
running." 

"That  was  well  put  in, "said  Neal.  "We 
must  look  to  see  it  get  harder." 

"Well,  we  aren't  going  to  work  to-day;  so 
we  will  show  the  boys  around  the  rest  of  the 
'estate.'  They  can  be  our  'guests'  for  a  little 
while,"  remarked  Dave.  "After  that,  we  must 
attend  right  away  to  the  matter  of  the  claims. 
We  have  taken  up  two  claims,  Ken;  one  in  your 
name  and  one  in  Neal's;  as  you  and  he  are  of 
age,  and  Phil  and  I  are  not.  To  make  the  mat 
ter  legally  binding,  you  must  go  through  the 


A    FOUR- FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  83 

formality  of  taking  up  your  own  claim,  as  the 
law  does  n't  recognize  any  proxies." 

"  If  I  'm  to  be  claimholder  of  such  vast  wealth 
as  this,"  said  Ken,  "I  don't  want  to  delay  a 
minute.  What  's  to  be  done?" 

"You  will  understand  it  better  as  we  go 
around,  and  we  can  attend  to  it  afterward.  It 
is  perhaps  as  necessary  for  you  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  your  property  as  to  hold  it." 

The  party  meanwhile  was  picking  it's  way 
through  a  grove  of  "  quaking-asp  "  (aspen)  trees 
in  the  direction  of  the  waterfall,  the  sound  of 
whose  rushing  downpour  was  borne  to  their  ears. 

A  short  walk  brought  them  to  a  rapid  stream, 
and  following  this  downward  a  little  way,  they 
came  to  the  shore  of  the  lake. 

Dave,  who  had  been  leading,  turned  and 
pointed  high  in  the  air  behind  them,  then  swept 
the  horizon  with  a  circular  wave  of  his  arm. 

Casting  their  eyes  aloft  and  then  following  the 
direction  of  Dave's  gesture,  the  boys  simultane 
ously  uttered  a  cry  of  admiration. 

From  the  dizzy  and  vague  region  of  the  clouds 
the  stream  shot  downward  toward  them,  giving 
the  effect  of  long  curving  leaps  from  ledge  to 
ledge.  To  the  right,  where  the  cliff  was  more 
precipitous,  the  lake  advanced  to  its  very  foot, 
and  the  lofty,  moss-covered  and  variegated  face 


84  THE    ?,ir, -IIORX    TREASURE. 

was  mirrored  in  the  bright  water  with  the  accu 
racy  of  a  photograph.  On  the  farther  side, 
where  the  shore  was  margined  by  a  pine-covered 
ridge  which  broke  down  from  the  towering  cliff, 
the  contrast  formed  by  the  line  of  trees  against 
the  luminous  blue  of  the  sky,  together  with  the 
rose  and  pearl  of  the  more  distant  peaks,  made  a 
picture  which,  all  in  all,  was  never  to  be  forgotten. 

4i  O,  I  am  in  love  with  this  place!  "  exclaimed 
Ken.  "  I  would  covet  it  as  a  possession  even 
without  the  gold  mine." 

"Yes,  it  's  beautiful.  It  seems  to  me  a  place 
where  one  need  never  grow  homesick,"  said  Phil. 

"  There  will  be  a  wonderful  change  when  win 
ter  comes,"  said  Neal.  "  But  that  is  a  long  way 
off  yet." 

The  little  party  resumed  its  walk  and  moved 
along  the  edge  of  the  lake,  passing,  presently, 
the  three  donkeys,  which  were  all — Sancho  in 
cluded —  eagerly  cropping  the  grass. 

"One  thing  here  surprises  me  greatly,"  said 
Ken.  "It  is  the  variety  and  strength  of  the 
vegetation.  The  altitude  must  be  great." 

"Yes,  it's  unusual;  but  I  think  it  could  be 
explained,"  replied  Neal.  "We  are  not  only 
on  the  Pacific  slope,  where  the  timber-line  runs 
higher,  but  are  well  protected  from  the  north 
and  get  plenty  of  sunshine.  Besides,  the  warm 


A    FOUR -FOOTED    CONTORTIONIST.  85 

southwest  winds  find  a  regular  channel  into  the 
valley  of  Porphyry  Creek,  through  two  or  three 
passes  to  the  south  of  here.  You  will  notice, 
though,  that  the  trees  are  all  pretty  small-sized. 
This  quaking-asp  springs  up  in  smart  style,  but, 
while  the  spruce  and  mountain-pine  have  thick 
branches,  they  are  not  high,  and  there  's  a  big 
proportion  of  jack-pine.  The  mountain-ash,  you 
see,  is  very  small,  and  the  cedar  is  nothing  but  a 
dwarf.  But  the  undergrowth  is  rich;  and  just 
look  at  the  flowers!  they  are  of  a  hundred  kinds.  " 

"The  birds  like  the  place  too,"  remarked 
Dave.  "  I  have  seen  humming-birds  several 
times;  and  there  are  magpies,  and  mountain- 
jays,  and  grouse,  and  ptarmigan,  and  the  water- 
ousels  splash  around  the  lake  and  waterfall  every 
day." 

"Do  you  knowr  what  the  altitude  is?"  Ken 
asked. 

"  Not  with  certainty,  but  Neal  says  the  test 
by  boiling  water  shows  it  to  be  about  twrelve 
thousand  feet." 

They  had  now  made  a  circuit  of  half  the  lake, 
and  here  Neal  turned  away  from  the  water  and 
led  the  way  through  a  heavy  growth  of  shad 
berry  or  service-bushes  literally  weighted  with 
their  blue-black  fruit. 

Emerging   from  the  bushes,    they  stood   upon 


86  T 1 1 E    B I G  -  1 1 0  R  X    T  R  E  A  S  U  R  E . 

the  verge  of  an  almost  sheer  descent  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  down  which  the  outgoing  stream  from 
the  lake  sprang  with  a  flying  dash  that  seemed 
all  the  greater  from  its  brief  rest. 

"  If  the  nights  here  become  very  dark,  a  per 
son  ought  not  to  wander  far  from  camp  without 
tying  a  line  around  his  waist,"  said  Phil.  "  Just 
see  the  creek  down  yonder;  it  's  nothing  but  a 
thread.  Gracious!  What  a  drop  it  would  be! 
Say,  Ken,  there  's  the  mountain  across  yonder 
we  signaled  from  with  our  helioscope." 

''Yes,"  said  Ncal,  "we  have  three  of  the 
great  necessities  of  a  first-class  mine." 

"  What  are  they?  "  Ken  asked. 

"  Beautiful  scenery,  pure  air,  and  a  magnifi 
cent  dumping-ground.  I  will  go  a  little  farther, 
and  say  that  our  mine  has  a  fourth  item  that  's 
'most  always  of  benefit,  though  some  do  without 
it,  and  that  's  a  body  of  rich  ore." 

The  boys  laughed  heartily  at  Neal's  quaint  and 
happy  raillery.  Then  Dave  spoke,  saying,  "Now 
we  will  show  you  about  the  matter  of  the  claims. 
Let  's  walk  along  the  cliff  until  we  reach  the 
point  where  the  vein  outcrops,  and  Ken  can  set 
the  stakes  as  he  sees  fit.  We  have  set  them  only 
as  a  matter  of  form." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SCIENTIFIC     MEASUREMENTS    UNDER     DIFFICUL 
TIES. 

They  followed  the  edge  of  the  plateau  a  few 
hundred  feet,  when  Dave  stopped,  saying:  "  You 
can  see  the  vein  here,  Ken.  It  is  as  well  de 
fined  and  of  about  the  same  thickness  as  where 
we  are  working. 

"Now,  the  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  is  this: 
we  wish  to  guard  ourselves  against  being  intruded 
upon  by  any  other  people  who  may  come  after 
us  and  for  that  reason  we  ought  to  claim  as  much 
of  this  vein  we  have  discovered  as  the  law  will 
permit  us  to  hold. 

"A  single  claim  may  be  fifteen  hundred  feet 
in  length  along  a  vein,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  on  each  side,  or  three  hundred  feet  wide. 
A  length  of  fifteen  hundred  feet  will  not  cover  all 
that  's  in  sight  here,  but  three  thousand  feet  will. 
So  \ve  concluded  to  have  a  second  claim  as  an 
extension  of  the  first ;  and  supposing  the  first 
one  to  start  at  the  creek  down  below  us  yonder, 
and  extend  horizontally  along  the  vein  for  fifteen 
hundred  feet,  it  will  end  here  on  our  plateau 

87 


88  TIIK  BK;-IIORX  TRKASURK. 

somewhere.  The  second  claim,  or  extension, 
will  take  up  the  vein  where  the  first  one  ends, 
and  carry  the  lines  of  our  property  far  enough 
up  the  mountain  (and  inside  it,  in  line  with 
our  tunnel)  to  make  us  secure  in  the  whole  thing. 
Nobody  can  then  bother  us.  Do  you  get  the 
idea?  " 

"  Yes,  I  see  the  point,  and  I  think  it  's  a  very 
wise  plan.  You  said  you  had  already  set  the 
stakes.  Do  you  mean  that  you  have  measured 
off  the  claims?  " 

Dave  laughed.  "  No,"  he  said,  "  we  have  n't, 
and  that  's  a  point  I  was  coming  to. 

"  It  's  impossible,  as  you  can  see,  to  do  it  by 
measurement,  on  account  of  the  cliffs,  and  the 
distances  must  be  had  by  triangulation.  Neither 
Neal  nor  I  have  enough  engineering  knowledge  to 
clo  this,  although  Neal  has  a  first-rate  compass. 
It  is  graduated  and  has  a  vernier,  has  two  levels 
and  folding,  open  sights.  Do  you  suppose  you 
can  do  what  is  necessary,  and  with  an  instrument 
of  that  sort?  " 

"Well,  let's  see  Neal's  compass.  I  ahvays 
liked  engineering,  and  at  the  university  I  had 
considerable  surveying  practice  with  the  boys. 
I  have  done  very  fair  \vork  with  an  open-sight 
instrument;  but,  of  course,  nobody  would  choose 
one  to  do  fine  \vork  with.  Still,  this  is  a  very 


S  C 1 E  X  T  T  F  T  C    M  E  A  S  U  R  K  M  K  X  T  S .  89 

plain    and    simple    bit    of    work.       U    might    be 
done." 

"  I  will  have  it  here  in  a  minute,"  said  Neal, 
and  he  started  for  camp  on  a  run. 

"  There  are  some  things  to  keep  in  mind  in 
locating  a  mine,"  said  Dave.  "We've  got  to 
file  certificates  of  our  locations  at  the  land-office; 
and  sometimes,  in  case  of  a  contest,  it  happens  to 
be  a  mighty  important  thing  whether  you  are 
correct  or  not.  I  'm  telling  you  this  so  that  you 
may  not  take  any  very  big  risk  on  this  instru 
ment." 

"  I  think  I  can  tell  when  I  examine  and  test 
it,"  replied  Ken. 

"  Now,  to  save  time,  let  's  see  if  there  is  any 
object  down  by  the  creek,  in  line  with  the  vein, 
that  we  might  obtain  a  tolerably  fine  sight  upon. ' ' 

After  a  careful  scrutiny  the  tip  of  a  blasted 
and  whitened  jack-pine  was  selected  as  being  in 
line  with  the  course  of  the  vein. 

The  pine  was  easily  to  be  distinguished,  as  it 
stood  right  beside  a  huge  gray-and-black  boul 
der  upon  the  bank  of  the  creek. 

"Now,  let's  measure  off  a  base-line  close 
along  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  and  make  it  as  long 
as  possible,"  said  Ken. 

Just  then  Neal  returned,  bringing  his  compass 
and  a  steel  tape-line.  "  I  got  these  things,"  he 


QO  THE    lUG-  HORN    TREASURE. 

said,  "  from  a  fellow  who  was  clown  on  his  luck 
and  in  poor  health,  and  wanted  to  sell  them. 
I  didn't  have  any  use  for  the  things, — it  was 
two  years  ago, —  and  didn't  have  too  much 
money,  either,  but  I  finally  gave  him  fifteen  dol 
lars  for  the  outfit,  with  the  understanding  that 
he  could  have  'em  back  if  he  came  with  the 
money.  He  never  showed  up,  so  I  suppose 
they  're  mine. " 

"  Have  you  ever  made  any  use  of  them?" 
asked  Ken. 

"  Yes,  I  've  used  the  tape  for  measuring  and 
the  compass  for  running  straight-ahead  lines. 
They  don't  take  up  much  space  in  packing,  and 
they  often  come  in  handy  in  the  mountains." 

Ken,  meanwhile,  was  examining  the  instru 
ment,  which  he  found  to  be  expensively  made, 
and  encased  in  a  handsome  flat  box.  He  re 
moved  it,  opened  the  sights,  tested  the  levels, 
and  examined  the  graduated  circle  and  vernier 
with  his  pocket  magnifying-glass. 

11  It  *s  an  unusually  fine  instrument  of  its 
kind,"  he  said,  "  and  must  have  cost  it's  former 
owner  at  least  fifty  dollars.  The  sights  can  be 
lengthened.  I  never  saw  one  like  it  before. 
That  will  help  us  immensely,  as  I  wras  wonder 
ing  how  it  would  work  on  vertical  angles  as  sharp 
as  these  are.  Yes,  I  feel  quite  sure  I  can  do 


SCTKXTIFIC    MEASUREMENTS.  91 

pretty  good  work  with  it.  After  we  measure  our 
base-line  I  will  make  a  test  of  what  it  is  able  to 
do,  by  triangulating  to  some  point  up  here  on 
the  plateau,  and  then  measuring  to  the  same 
point  with  a  tape.  Have  you  anything  which 
will  answer  the  purpose  of  a  standard  or  tripod, 
Neal?" 

"  I  brought  along  this  sharpened  post  with  a 
flat  top,"  replied  Neal.  "The  compass-box  has 
a  sharp  brad  in  the  center  of  the  under  side,  to 
prevent  it  from  slipping." 

"That  will  do,  I  think.  Now  for  the  base 
line." 

Ken  soon  found  that  he  could  easily  obtain  a 
base-line  six  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the 
edge  of  the  cliff,  which  he  carefully  measured, 
marking  each  end  with  a  stake.  Each  post  was 
plainly  visible  from  the  other. 

This  being  accomplished,  Ken  then  proceeded 
to  level  the  instrument  at  one  of  the  posts. 

Then,  pointing  to  a  distant  dead  aspen  tree, 
he  said:  "  I  am  going  to  triangulate  to  that  tree, 
which  is  quite  as  distant  from  here,  I  think,  as 
the  creek  down  below  is.  I  mean  horizontally, 
of  course.  I  wish  two  of  you  would  measure  the 
distance  from  here  to  the  tree,  very  carefully, 
and  then  we  will  compare  notes.  While  you  are 
doing  it,  I  will  have  to  go  to  camp  for  a  little 


Q2  THE    1UC.  -  HORN    TREASURE. 

book  of    mine,  which    contains   sine  and    tangent 

o 

tables." 

Quickly  returning,  he  sighted  with  the  com 
pass  from  one  post  of  the  base-line  to  the  other, 
and  then  to  the  aspen  tree,  carefully  noting  and 
marking  down  the  angle  of  deflection. 

o  o 

He  repeated  this  process  three  times. 

Then  he  turned  the  instrument,  and  sighted 
below  to  the  jack-pine  by  the  creek,  reading  the 
angle  contained  between  that  point  and  the  other 
base-line  post.  This  he  also  repeated  three 
times,  noting  and  marking  down  the  result  as 
before. 

Then  picking  up  his  instrument  and  the  sharp 
ened  post,  he  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the 
base-line  and  went  through  the  same  formula. 

By  this  time  the  others  had  returned  from 
making  the  measurement. 

"I  will  have  my  result  presently,"  said  Ken; 
"please  don't  give  me  yours  until  I  have  figured 
out  mine. " 

He  took  out  his  pocket-book,  saying,  "This 
little  book  will  save  me  the  labor  of  figuring  out 
the  sines  of  my  angles ;  and  all  there  now  remains 
for  me  to  do  is  a  little  problem  in  proportion. 

"This  is  the  statement: 

The  sine  of  the  Sine  of  the  Giyen  Required 

angle  opposite    :     angle  opposite     ::       g}de        : 
given  side.  required  side. 


SCIENTIFIC    MEASUREMENTS.  93 

He  figured    for  a  minute    or    two,  referring   to 

o  o 

his  book  and  then  announced  : 

"  I  make  the  distance  from  the  farther  post  to 
the  dead  aspen  nine  hundred  and  eighty-four 
and  a  half  feet. 

"Good!"  cried  Neal.  "We  make  it  nine 
hundred  and  eighty-six  feet." 

"  Ah.  That  's  really  better  than  I  expected,  " 
replied  Ken.  "I  can  figure  out  my  other  trian- 
gulation  now,  with  some  assurance  that  it  will  be 
nearly  right. " 

This  result  he  shortly  announced  as  eight 
hundred  and  ninety-two  feet. 

"This,  of  course,  is  the  horizontal  distance," 
he  said.  "  Now  we  must  take  a  reading  and 
measurement  from  here  to  the  center  of  the 
outcrop  at  the  verge  of  the  cliff,  and  then  we  can 
figure  out  just  where  the  posts  of  the  claim 
ought  to  be  placed." 

Then  turning  to  Dave,  he  asked,  "Do  cer 
tificates  of  location  give  the  accurate  direction 
or  course,  of  the  vein?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  Dave,  "  they  are  never  sup 
posed  to  be  absolutely  correct,  but,  as  I  have 
said,  the  nearer  right  a  man  makes  his  certificate, 
the  less  trouble  he  may  have  in  the  end." 

"Well,  then,  I  think  I  can  give  the  correct 
course;  but  I  will  have  to  make  a  little  experi- 


94  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

ment  in  astronomy  first,  which  I  '11  do  to-night. 
I  have  n't  used  the  magnetic  needle  at  all,  as  it 
could  n't  be  relied  on  here.  Neal,  which  way  is 
north?  "  he  asked. 

"  North  seems  to  be  somewhere  about  where 
that  notch  is,  between  those  two  sharp  peaks," 
Neal  replied,  pointing,  as  he  spoke,  with  his 
finger.  "  I  get  it  from  the  north  star.  That 
will  be  pretty  near  right,  won't  it?  " 

"Nearly,  but  not  quite,"  said  Ken.  Then 
consulting  the  needle,  he  remarked,  "  According 
to  what  you  say,  this  needle  does  n't  point  within 
thirty  degrees  of  true  north.  There  's  some 
attraction  here  from  mineral ;  which  makes  a 
compass  needle  of  no  use  at  all." 

The  boys  then  went  about  resetting  the  corner- 
posts  according  to  Ken's  directions. 

"Allowing  a  fraction  for  what  we  may  need 
down  below,  we  will  let  this  claim  run  back  from 
the  edge  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet. 
This  will  make  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
in  the  opposite  direction,  or  down  to  the  creek," 
he  said.  "  I  suppose  the  two  southerly  end- 
posts  of  this  claim  will  also  be  the  northerly  end- 
posts  of  the  other  one?" 

"Yes,  that's  the  better  way;  and  it's  the 
way  an  '  extension  '  is  usually  made, "  said  Dave. 


S  C I K  X  T I F  1C    M E  A  S  U  R  E  A I  E  X  T  S .  95 

This  being  accomplished,  Ken  set  about  pre 
paring  for  his  evening  "  observation." 

He  obtained  from  Neal  two  small  pieces  of 
box-cover.  In  one  he  cut  a  long,  narrow  slit 
about  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  wide,  and  this  piece 
he  nailed  perpendicularly  to  the  other  piece,  which 
he  laid  flatwise.  The  flat  piece  could  thus  be 
shoved  along  a  table  and  the  slit  would  remain 
upright. 

Then  he  took  a  pole,  and  attaching  a  string 
and  plumb-bob  to  the  top  end,  planted  it  in  the 
ground  so  that  the  top  of  the  pole  leaned  two  or 
three  feet  to  one  side.  He  placed  a  pail  filled 
with  water  directly  underneath  the  top  of  the 
pole,  so  that  the  plumb-bob  hung  suspended 
within  the  water,  which  made  the  line  steady. 
This  completed  his  preparations  until  it  became 
time  for  "business,"  he  said. 

After  the  pleasant  exercise  of  supper  had  been 
disposed  of,  Ken  borrowed  Neal's  table,  and  with 
Phil's  assistance  made  its  top  quite  level,  pla 
cing  it  as  nearly  due  south  of  his  plumb-line  as  he 
could  judge.  Then  laying  upon  the  table  the 
contrivance  with  the  vertical  slit,  he  said  he  was 
all  ready. 

"The  thing  is  perfectly  simple,"  he  said  to 
the  other  boys.  ' '  I  presume  you  all  know  that  the 


96  T H  E    1J I G  -  1 1 0  R  X    T  R E  ASU  R E . 

pole-star  makes  an  apparent  revolution,  or  path, 
around  the  true  north  point,  and  all  that  's  ne 
cessary  is  to  make  your  observation  at  the  right 
moment.  That  is,  when  the  pole-star  is  on  the 
meridian,  and  before  it  passes  to  the  east  or  west 
of  it.  Now,  science  has  learned  that  the  star 
Alioth  (the  star  in  the  handle  of  the  dipper  that 
is  nearest  to  the  bowl)  also  crosses  the  true  me 
ridian  practically  at  the  same  time  as  Polaris. 
Therefore,  it  's  only  necessary  to  set  your  marks 
when  one  star  is  directly  above  the  other  and 
you  have  your  north-and-south  line." 

Ken's  description  made  this  matter  much 
clearer  to  the  boys  than  it  ever  had  been  before, 
and  as  the  evening  wore  along  he  showed  them 
the  actual  practice  of  the  test  by  frequently 
pushing  his  upright  slit  along  so  as  to  always 
have  it  in  line  with  both  the  plumb-line  and  the 
pole-star.  Meanwhile  it  was  necessary  for  one 
of  the  boys  to  hold  a  candle  so  that  its  light 
would  shine  upon  the  plumb-line  and  enable  it  to 
be  seen. 

Finally  he  announced  that  the  plumb-line 
showed  Alioth  to  be  directly  below  Polaris,  and 
ordered  two  stakes  driven  in  the  ground  —  one 
close  to  the  table  and  the  other  at  about  two  hun 
dred  feet  distance  —  and  the  meridian  was  estab 
lished. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEAL'S  "BLOW-UP"— THE  SICK  STRANGER. 

After  breakfast  the  following  morning,  Ken  put 
the  finishing-touches  to  his  work  of  the  evening 
before  by  connecting  his  meridian  line  with  the 
center-line  of  the  claims.  This  was  quickly  ac 
complished  by  setting  up  the  compass  at  the 
meridian  and  sighting  to  the  center-line  and  read 
ing  the  angle,  then  resetting  his  instrument  at 
the  center-line  post  and  sighting  back  to  the 
meridian  line  and  reading  the  angle  of  deflection. 
This  gave  him  the  true  course  of  the  vein  (and 
of  the  claim)  quite  independently  of  the  compass- 
needle,  which  could  not  be  relied  upon. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  Neal  and  Ken  were 
to  go  down  into  the  valley  to  set  the  necessary 
corner-posts  there,  while  Dave  and  Phil  would 
remain  in  camp  and  devote  their  attention  to 
putting  the  assay  furnace  into  working  order. 

As  Ken  and  Neal  walked  down  the  trail  to 
gether,  Ken  remarked  :  "  From  the  mountain  top 
over  yonder,  where  we  strayed  to,  clay  before 
yesterday,  this  place  looks  perfectly  inaccessible. 
97 


98  TIIK    UK! -HORN    TREASURE. 

You  must  have  had  hard  work  to  make  the  trail  as 
good  as  it  is." 

"  It  was  almost  inaccessible  till  we  made  the 
trail,"  replied  Neal.  "I  came  up  alone  first, 
when  I  was  tracing  the  vein,  and  there  were 
places  where  't  wasn't  any  easy  job  for  me  to  get 
over.  I  call  myself  pretty  spry  too.  After  I 
found  the  vein  and  went  back  again,  it  took  Dave 
and  me  three  solid  days  before  we  could  get  the 
jacks  over. 

"  We  've  done  some  work  on  it  since  then 
too.  That  reminds  me  of  something!  I  've  al 
ways  intended  to  explore  the  wall  of  the  moun 
tain  on  the  farther  side  of  the  plateau.  Maybe 
'twould  have  been  easier  to  get  up  and  down 
from  that  side  than  this.  Don't  make  any  dif 
ference  now,  I  s'pose,  but  it  's  well  enough  to 
know  how  the  land  lies;  considering  that  \ve 
might  have  visitors  some  time." 

"  Have  you  seen  any  people  since  you  came 
in  here?"  Ken  inquired. 

"  No,  not  a  soul.  There  are  men  not  many 
miles  away,  though;  because  I  've  seen  smoke 
from  their  fire,  'way  up  high  among  the  hills  to 
the  north.  I  thought  I  heard  a  man  shout,  one 
day,  too,  when  I  was  coming  up  the  trail,  but  1 
could  n't  see  any  one." 

"  You  say  we  might  have  visitors,"  said  Ken. 


XEAL'S  "  IJLOW  -  UP.  "  99 

"  Do  you  think  there  are  men  in  the  mountains 
who  would  really  try  to  disturb  us  in  our  rights 
here? 

"  I  've  no  reason  for  saying  there  \s  any  such 
men  hereabouts,  now,"  replied  Neal,  "but 
that  's  the  history  of  every  mining  district  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  I  've  had  my  own  experiences 
in  being  '  jumped. ' 

"One  of  them  —  my  first  one,  in  fact — is 
kind  of  amusing  to  think  about  now,  although  I 
could  n't  see  anything  so  very  comical  about  it 
at  the  time." 

"  What  was  it?  Are  you  willing  to  tell  the 
story?  " 

li  It  was  the  year  I  came  out  West ;  when  I  was 
nothing  but  a  youngster,  rather  green,  but  plucky 
enough;  the  sort  they  raise  in  and  around  the 
lumber  woods  of  Maine  and  Canada. 

11  I  struck  a  small  camp  over  near  Eureka, 
Nevada,  where  everybody  was  going  daft  about 
the  prospects.  I  hung  around  a  fewr  days,  with 
nothing  to  do,  when  a  man  came  up  to  me  and 
asked  if  I  didn't  want  a  good  all-winter  job, 
good  pay  and  not  much  to  do. 

"I  wasn't  lazy,  but  the  promise  of  good, 
steady  pay  was  enough,  so  I  said  '  Yes,'  mighty 
quick.  Then  he  told  me  he  had  a  claim  up  in 
the  mountains,  and  was  obliged  to  go  away  East 


100  TIIK    UK;- HORN    TKKASl'RK. 

for  a  while,  and  would  be  willing  lo  pay  good 
waees  to  have  it  held  for  him.  lie  said  he  spoke 

o  1 

to  me  because  he  thought  my  face  showed  that  I 
was  honest  and  would  n't  be  easily  scared. 

"Well,  I  struck  a  bargain  with  him  right 
away.  He  gave  me  a  lot  of  instructions,  told  me 
how  to  find  the  place,  and  gave  me  money 
enough  to  stock  up  with  provisions  for  six 
months.  There  was  a  good  log  cabin  on  the 
claim,  he  said,  and  the  kind  of  talk  he  gave  me 
sort  of  made  me  proud ;  so  when  he  gave  me  the 
key  and  shook  hands  with  me  I  started  off,  say 
ing  to  myself  that  I  was  going  to  show7  him  that 
he  had  n't  made  any  mistake  in  his  man. 

"  I  found  the  place  all  right,  got  my  grub  in, 
and  made  everything  as  tidy  and  comfortable  as 
I  could.  There  was  n't  anything  to  do,  as  one 
man  could  n't  work  in  a  shaft  alone,  so  I  used  to 
wander  around  the  hills  a  good  deal,  hunting  and 
exploring. 

"  One  day,  just  as  I  was  getting  back  to  the 
cabin,  I  found  twro  men  sitting  beside  the  trail,  a 
little  way  from  the  door. 

"  As  I  came  up  one  of  them  snarled  out,  '  Say, 
who  be  you,  and  what  ye  doin'  'round  here, 
anyhow? 

"I  didn't  like  his  way  of  speaking,  and  I 
did  n't  like  the  cut  of  either  of  'em  very  well,  so 


NEAL  S    "  BLOW-  UP.  IOI 

I  said,  '  Maybe  I  've  a  better  right  to  ask  you 
that  question,  but  your  looks  are  enough  forme. 
I  don't  want  to  know  anything  about  you,'  and 
I  walked  right  past  'em  toward  the  cabin. 

"At  that  they  both  called  out,  'Hold  on 
there,  young  feller!  ' 

"  I  turned,  and  the  other  man  spoke  up,  say 
ing,  '  Don't  you  ride  any  high-steppin'  horse 
past  us,  or  you  '11  have  trouble  a'plenty.  The 
duffer  what  sent  you  up  here  jumped  this  claim. 
It  's  our  'n,  and  we  want  you  to  chase  yerself  out 
o'  here  double  quick.' 

"That  statement  kind  of  staggered  me,  be 
cause  I  couldn't  know  but  what  it  might  be  true. 
But  I  answered  him  back,  '  You  say  it  's  your 
claim.  How  did  it  come  to  be  yours?  ' 

"  '  It  's  our  'n  'cause  we  located  it  first,'  he 
replied. 

"  '  Oh!  you  did?  '  said  I.  '  Did  you  build  this 
log  shanty  ?  ' 

"  '  No,  the  jumper  put  it  up,'  he  growled. 

"  '  He  did,  eh?  '  I  said.  '  Well,  did  you  sink- 
that  shaft?  and  are  there  any  corner-posts  any 
where  around  here  that  you  set  up?  ' 

"  Either  the  questions  or  else  my  sarcastic  way 
of  talking  made  him  wild,  and  he  yelled,  *  We 
ain't  goin'  to  fool  with  you,  nor  take  any  cheap 
talk!  You  pack  up  an'  git  out  o'  here,  or  we  '11 


102  THE    lUC-IIORX    TREASURE. 

fix  you.  We  '11  give  ye  jest  two  days  to  do 
it  in  !  ' 

"  I  felt  pretty  sure  now  that  they  were  ras 
cals,  and  as  I  wasn't  a  bit  scared  I  answered, 
'  Thanks  for  the  two  days,  but  I  'm  going  to  need 
a  little  more  time  than  that.  In  fact,  I  'm  going 
to  stay  here  all  winter;  and  now,  if  you  've  got 
yourselves  all  rested,  you  can  hit  that  trail,  and 
do  it  hard  and  quick.  You  're  not  ornamental 
enough  for  my  front  dooryard  ! 

"They  both  jumped  to  their  feet  then,  and 
made  some  show  of  reaching  for  their  revolvers, 
but  I  tapped  the  stock  of  my  Winchester  kind 
of  careless-like,  and  with  my  left  hand  pointed 
down  the  trail. 

44  They  didn't  stop  to  argue,  but  hustled  off, 
and  just  before  disappearing  from  sight  in  the 
brush  turned  and  screamed,  '  Mind!  We  '11  fix 


"  I  did  n't  really  expect  any  trouble,  but  I  kept 
about  the  claim  somewhat  closer  for  a  while,  and 
for  two  or  three  weeks  I  did  n't  even  know  who 
the  fellows  were. 

4<  One  day  I  ran  across  them  down  at  the  camp, 
and  found,  by  inquiring,  that  they  didn't  seem 
to  have  any  friends  except  among  the  toughs,  so 
I  did  n't  bother  my  head  about  'em  any  more. 

44  One  night,  maybe  about  ten  clays  after  this, 


NE AL '  S    ' '  BLO W  -  U P.  "  103 

I  was  sound  asleep  in  my  bunk  when  there  came 
a  paralyzing  crash  and  roar.  The  cabin  seemed 
to  be  lifted  into  the  air,  everything  in  it  scat 
tered  to  the  four  winds,  and  as  for  me,  I  thought 
—  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  think  at  all  —  that  my 
brains  went  one  way  and  fragments  of  my  body 
another.  I  lost  my  senses  for  a  while,  and  when 
I  came  to  I  lay  helpless. 

"  Gradually  I  began  to  pull  myself  together, 
and  found  that  although  I  had  bruises  and  cuts 
all  over  my  body  from  my  face  downward,  I  'd 
got  through  without  any  real  bad  hurt. 

"The  cowards  had  blown  up  the  cabin  with 
giant-powder.  Lucky  for  me,  though,  they 
did  n't  know  what  corner  my  bunk  was  in,  and 
they  did  their  sneaking  work  at  the  opposite  end 
from  me. 

"  It  wras  a  beautiful  wreck.  The  stove,  and 
most  everything  else,  was  smashed  into  scraps, 
and  what  was  left  of  the  cabin  was  just  about 
standing  on  end. 

"When  I  dragged  myself  down  to  the  camp 
next  day,  and  put  myself  on  exhibition,  there 
was  a  mad  lot  of  men.  The  coyotes  had  skulked 
awray,  though,  and  couldn't  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  country.  So  the  boys  had  to  be  satisfied 
with  clubbing  together  and  helping  me  to  rebuild 
the  cabin  and  straighten  everything  up." 


io4  TIII-:  me- HORN  TREASURE. 

"Did  you  ever  see  or  hear  anything  of  the 
fellows,  afterwards?"  asked  Ken. 

"  No,  not  a  thing-.  I  hungered  and  thirsted 
to  find  'em  for  a  long  time,  but  years  ago  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  forget  about  it.  There 
ain't  any  sense  in  running  'round  looking  for 
trouble.  It  's  apt  to  come  fast  enough  all  by 
itself." 

Arriving  at  the  dead  jack-pine  it  took  but  a 
short  time  for  Ken  to  figure  out  the  location  of 
the  posts,  and  they  were  quickly  set. 

Then  he  took  a  few  bearings  with  the  compass 
to  prominent  objects,  and  after  posting  the 
claim  notice  at  one  of  the  corners,  they  returned 
toward  camp. 

They  walked  at  a  moderate  pace,  chatting  as 
they  went,  about  the  risks  and  experiences  of 
the  miner's  life,  so  that  time  passed  rapidly  and 
the  way  seemed  short. 

They  had  left  the  valley,  and  were  more  than 
half-way  up  the  trail  toward  camp,  when  Neal, 
who  was  slightly  in  advance,  paused,  exclaiming, 
"  Hello!  What  's  this?" 

Ken  looked  up  the  trail,  then  answered, 
''Why,  it's  one  of  the  boys!  Can  anything 
have  happened  at  camp?" 

After  a  slight  pause  Neal  returned,  "  No,  it 
ain't  one  of  our  boys.  It  's  a  stranger." 


NEAL'S  "  BLOW  -  UP.  "  105 

Sitting  in  the  trail  some  distance  ahead,  and 
above  them,  was  a  man. 

Whether  he  had  seen  the  two  persons  approach 
ing  was  uncertain.  But  as  they  looked  he 
seemed  to  drop  into  a  recumbent  position  and  to 
writhe  as  if  in  intense  pain. 

<l  Something  has  happened  to  him,"  said  Ken. 
"  Let  's  hurry  and  see  if  we  can  be  of  any  help  !  " 

They  soon  reached  the  place  and  found  a 
rather  small,  black-bearded  man  lying  at  full 
length  and  motionless,  but  uttering  occasional 
deep  groans. 

Neal  touched  him  on  the  shoulder  saying, 
"  What  's  the  trouble,  friend?  " 

The  man  opened  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  but 
gave  no  indication  of  consciousness. 

Ken  then  shook  him  slightly,  crying,  "  Are 
you  hurt?  Is  there  anything  we  can  do  for  you  ? ' ' 

After  staring  at  Ken  for  a  minute  he  seemed 
to  try  to  speak,  as  he  moved  his  lips,  but  the 
sound  was  unintelligible. 

lt  Can't  you  sit  up?  "  asked  Neal,  at  the  same 
time  trying  to  help  him  to  partially  rise,  but  the 
man  sank  back,  almost  as  though  unwilling  to  be 
helped. 

"  I  can't  make  out  yet,"  said  Neal,  "  whether 
he  's  been  hurt,  or  is  sick,  or  is  just  a  plain  looney. 
What  do  you  make  of  him,  Ken?  " 


106  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Being  where  he  is,  the  most  natural  thing  is 
to  suppose  he  has  been  hurt,  but  his  symptoms 
look  more  like  sickness.  I  don't  see  any  marks. 
Do  you  ? ' ' 

"No,  there's  no  bones  broken.  What  do 
you  think  we  ought  to  do  with  him?  " 

"  I  hardly  see  yet,"  replied  Ken.  "  Perhaps 
we  would  better  wait  a  little  while  to  see  if  he 
doesn't  come  back  to  consciousness." 

"  What  plagues  me  is  to  understand  what  he 
is  doing  here  on  our  trail,"  said  Neal.  "He 
was  either  going  toward  our  camp  or  else  coming 
from  there.  But  what  for?  Can  you  imagine?" 

"  No;  that  's  beyond  me.  It  's  very  peculiar. 
Maybe  he  will  tell  us  himself.  He  begins  to  show 
some  signs  of  knowing  something." 

The  man  seemed  to  be  struggling  to  sit  up,  so 
both  of  our  friends  lent  their  assistance,  and 
presently  he  stammered,  "  What  's  the  matter? 
Who  are  you  ?  ' ' 

"  We  can  introduce  ourselves  if  it  will  help 
things  along  any,  but,  my  clear  boy,  we  can't  tell 
what  's  the  matter.  In  fact,  we  had  some  hopes 
you  would  do  that,"  said  Neal. 

"I  'm  sick!      Awful  sick!  "   the  man  groaned. 

"  If  we  can  do  anything  for  you,  we  will,"  said 
Ken.  "Where  did  you  come  from?  and  how 
did  you  get  up  here  on  this  trail?  " 


BIT   THK    SOtND    WAS    UNINTELLIGIBLE," 


XKAL'S  "  BLOW-  UP."  109 

"  Let  's  sec.  Where  be  I  ?  O,  yes.  Now  I 
know!  I  come  from  Bald  Eagle.  I've  got  a 
pardner  somewheres  this  way,  an'  I  'm  tryin'  to 
find  him.  I  heerd  he  was  on  the  head  of  Por- 
ph'ry  Creek.  I  've  ben  sick  most  the  way  up. 
I  seen  this  trail  an'  come  along  up  here,  but  I 
felt  awful  bad  an'  set  down.  That  's  all." 

He  told  this  with  frequent  catches  of  breath 
and  seeming  spasms  of  pain. 

''Well,  that  seems  a  straight  story,"  said 
Neal,  "  and  I  guess  you  're  playing  in  pretty  hard 
luck.  We  '11  have  to  get  you  to  camp  somehow, 
and  maybe  we  can  fix  you  up  a  little.  It  seems, 
Ken,  that  he  must  have  struck  our  trail  after  we 
turned  away  from  it  to  go  up  the  valley." 

"Yes,  of  course.  The  next  thing  now  is  the 
question  of  how  we  are  going  to  get  him  up.  Do 
you  think  you  can  try  to  walk?  "  he  asked  of  the 
sick  man. 

"  I  '11  try.  I  'm  feelin'  better,  some.  Mebbe 
I  won't  get  faint  any  more." 

They  assisted  him  to  his  feet  and  started, 
the  sick  man  walking  slowly  between  Neal  and 
Ken. 

"  I  'm  pretty  rocky,"  he  said,  "  but  I  guess  I 
kin  go  it,  slow.  Hope  I  ain't  goin'  to  have 
mountain  fever." 

Pausing  now  and  then,    they  made  their  way 


110  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

upward  and  along  the  trail,  the  man  seemingly 
gaining  more  strength  as  they  advanced. 

As  it  was  only  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  camp, 
they  reached  there  in  little  more  than  an  hour, 
and  the  invalid  was  made  comfortable  in  one  of 
the  tents.  He  had,  meanwhile,  as  they  reached 
the  plateau  and  neared  the  camp,  looked  about 
him  with  evident  but  somewhat  languid  curiosity. 

Neal    left    him,    saviner    cheerfully,     "A    hot 

J          o  * 

drink  and  a  nibble  of  dinner  will  help  you  along- 
some,  I  think.  I  '11  look  over  the  bill  of  fare." 

Dave  and  Phil  were  full  of  curiosity  over  the 
new  arrival,  and  Ken  was  explaining  how  they 
had  picked  him  up. 

"He  looks  harmless,"  Dave  said,  "and  of 
course  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  take  him  in. 
I  hope  we  won't  have  very  many  callers  yet 
awhile,  though. " 

"  No  fear,  Dave,"  returned  Neal.  "  There  's 
not  very  many  of  'em  in  these  parts.  I  guess  if 
this  fellow  wasn't  a  little  weak  under  his  hat - 
as  well  as  in  his  legs  —  he  wouldn't  be  here, 
either.  How  do  you  come  along  with  the  assay 
rigging?  " 

"We've  got  it  all  nicely  into  shape,  and  our 
test-ore  all  powdered  too.  We  've  also  opened 
up  the  charcoal  pit  I  started  last  week.  There  's 
some  of  the  stuff.  Pretty  good  coal,  is  n't  it? 


NKAI/S    "  BLOW-UP."  I  I  I 

We  '11  have  dinner,  and  then  go  ahead  with  the 
tests.  Dinner  's  all  ready,  and  I  'm  cook  to-day, 
but  I  'm  in  no  danger  of  being  spoiled  by  your 
flatteries.  Whenever  we  want  to  give  a  swell 
dinner  party,  Neal  is  the  man  to  act  as  chef" 

Before  seating  himself,  Neal  carried  a  liberal 
allowance  of  food  to  the  sick  man,  who  remarked, 
"  I'll  eat  just  a  little.  Don't  feel  much  like  eatin'." 

While  the  boys  sat  at  table  Dave  explained 
his  idea  of  the  chief  need  for  an  assay  in  a  case 
like  theirs. 

"  It    might  seem,"  he  said,    "  as  if   it  weren't 

o 

necessary  to  bother  ourselves  about  how 
many  dollars  each  cubic  foot  of  ore  as  rich  as 
this  will  yield.  That  part  of  the  matter  would 
be  taken  care  of  when  the  ore  goes  to  the  mill. 
But  it  's  not  wise  to  work  in  the  dark  when 
you  're  able  to  have  a  light. 

"  Neal  and  I  several  times  have  tried  crushing 
the  ore,  weighing  the  samples,  and  washing  them 
in  a  pan.  In  this  way  we  have  not  been  able 
to  get  a  result  higher  than  six  or  eight  dollars 
to  the  pound  of  rock,  nor  an  average  of  more 
than  four  or  five  dollars. 

"  Now,  we  are  sure  that  it's  a  good  deal  richer 
than  this,  and  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  gold 
is  in  the  form  of  a  brittle  telluride,  which, 
when  it  is  pulverized,  washes  away  with  the  sand. 


112  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

The  reason  why  we  are  sure  of  this  is  that 
we  have  made  some  crude  attempts  at  roasting 
the  ore  to  drive  out  the  tellurium.  When  we 
roast  and  then  wash  it  we  get  larger  results.  But 
to  give  real  satisfaction  we  must  have  a  smelting- 
test,  or  assay.  A  careful  assay  will  give  us  val 
uable  knowledge  in  several  directions.  Not 
only  how  rich  the  ore  actually  is  at  present,  but 
(what  is  most  important)  will  give  us  better 
ideas  of  how  the  vein  is  likely  to  continue. 

11  The  proportion  of  'free'  gold  to  that  which 
is  contained  in  the  telluridcs  is  one  important 
matter.  If  the  tellurides  run  high,  there  is  a 
larger  probability  of  the  vein  holding  out  rich 
than  if  most  of  the  gold  is  free.  Then,  too, 
there  are  various  forms  of  tellurides,  and  most 
of  them  contain  silver.  There  is,  probably,  silver 
here,  but  for  my  part  I  hope  there  isn't  much. 
The  ore  will  be  more  promising,  and  besides,  will 
be  more  easily  milled  if  it  runs  light  in  silver. 

"There  may  also  be  sulphides.  At  present  I 
can  see  little  more  than  a  trace,  but  this  may 
change,  and  in  that  case  the  whole  character  of 
the  mine  changes." 

"How  will  it  change,  Dave?"  asked  Phil. 
"  Will  it  be  unfavorable?  " 

"  It  will  not  be  favorable.  The  usual  form  of 
gold  sulphide  is  iron  pyrites,  and  it  is  not  a  good 


NEAL' s  ' '  BLOW  -UP."  113 

ore  to  treat.  Knowledge  of  how  to  mill  these 
ores  is  increasing,  but  the  subject  is  still  a  good 
deal  of  a  problem.  Quartz  containing  sulphide 
is  very  apt  to  be  hard  and  heavy  too,  and  there 
fore  expensive  to  mine  as  well  as  to  mill.  The 
most  desirable  thing  is  ore  rich  in  tellurides,  or 
(of  course)  free  gold,  but,  in  my  judgment,  our 
best  hope  is  tellurides." 

"  Well,  here  's  to  Mr.  Tellurium!  "  cried  Phil. 
"  May  his  tribe  increase  and  wax  fat!  "  and  he 
held  up  his  tin  cup  of  coffee. 

All  drank,  the  dinner  was  ended,  and  Dave 
went  about  his  task. 

Neal  looked  in  upon  the  sick  man  and  found 
that  he  had  finished  every  scrap  of  the  bountiful 
dinner  he  had  carried  to  him. 

"  I  guess  our  patient  will  come  around  if  we 
give  him  time,  Ken,"  he  remarked.  "He's 
polished  off  the  tin  dishes  till  they  shine." 

4'  Perhaps  it  was  hunger  that  ailed  the  poor 
fellow,"  said  Ken. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.    Maybe,"  was  the  reply. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

RESULT    OF    DAVE'S     ASSAY. 

"  The  first  thing  to  do,"  said  Dave,  "  is  to  fire 
up  the  furnace.  It  will  take  a  little  while  for  it 
to  come  to  a  proper  heat.  I  hope  it  isn't  going 
to  rain.  It  might  spoil  our  efforts,"  and  he 
looked  at  the  sky. 

"  Maybe  I  can  fix  a  roof  that  will  shed  rain 
for  a  little  while,"  said  Neal,  "  by  hoisting  a  can 
vas  pack-cover  on  poles." 

This  he  succeeded  in  doing  very  neatly  in  a 
short  time,  meanwhile  remarking,  "  We  've  got 
to  build  a  house  soon  as  we  can  get  around  to  it. 
I  guess  we  four  ought  to  be  able  to  run  it  up  in 
quick  time. " 

By  the  time  Neal  had  finished  his  roof  Dave 
had  his  powdered  ore,  or  "  pulp, "  all  prepared 
and  weighed,  and  upon  inspecting  the  furnace  he 
pronounced  it  hot  enough  for  business. 

"  I  may  have  to  try  a  number  of  times  before 
I  hit  it  just  right,  but  we  shouldn't  be  satisfied 
with  one  test,  even  if  we  don't  meet  with  any 
accident." 

114 


RESULT    OF    DAVES    ASSAY.  115 

The  boys  were  all  watching  his  work  with  the 
keenest  interest,  and  Ken  asked,  "  Shall  we 
bother  you  any,  Dave,  if  we  stand  around  and 
watch  you?  We  're  all  full  of  curiosity." 

"Oh!  no.  Not  a  bit,"  replied  Dave.  "  I  '11 
try  and  explain  the  process  as  we  go. 

"  There  are  several  ways  of  making  assays," 
he  continued,  "  but  the  process  known  as  '  scori- 
fication'  is  as  good  for  our  needs  as  any,  and  is 
much  the  simplest.  So  we  will  use  it." 

"Why  is  it  called  <  scorification, '  Dave?" 
asked  Phil. 

"  I  hardly  know,  unless  the  man  who  gave  it 
the  name  had  the  first  chance  at  the  word.  It  is 
evidently  from  '  scoria, '  and  indicates  that  the 
result  is  obtained  from  a  fusion  of  substances, 
but  many  other  methods  are  equally  so.  It  's 
merely  a  name. 

"  First,  we  've  got  to  roast  our  sample.  We 
do  this  to  prevent  a  loss  of  gold  or  silver  through 
volatilizing — 

"Tut,  tut,  Dave!  Twist  the  brakes  a  little 
there!  "  cried  Neal.  "Just  wait  till  I  get  out 
my  dictionary,  will  you! 

Dave  laughed  gaily,  and  said,  "Well,  I'd 
have  given  you  a  shorter  one  if  it  were  capable 
of  doing  the  work,  but  there  isn't  any  that  I 
know  of.  You  shouted  a  little  too  soon.  I  was 


Il6  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

just  going  on  to  say  that  when  you  melt  up  your 
ore  without  first  driving  out  certain  elements,  such 
as  zinc  or  sulphur,  or  antimony  (which  are  pretty 
sure  to  exist  there  in  some  proportion)  the  in 
tense  heat  operates  upon  them  all  so  quickly 
that  they  are  likely  to  carry  off  some  of  the  gold 
or  silver  in  the  fumes.  We  call  it  'volatilizing/ 
and  this  can  be  prevented  by  driving  out  these 
elements  first  with  a  moderate  heat." 

"Oh!  I  understand  now,  and  I  apologize," 
said  Neal. 

"Never  mind  the  apology,"  replied  Dave, 
smiling.  He  then  resumed,  pausing  between 
each  of  the  stages  of  his  work : 

"The  roasting  is  best  done  by  placing  the 
ore  upon  an  iron  pan  like  this,  which  we  coat 
all  over  with  chalk  and  then  sprinkle  with  the 
powdered  ore  and  place  it  inside  the  muffle." 

"What's  the  muffle,  Dave?"  asked  Neal. 
"  Is  it  the  oven?  " 

"  Yes,  it  's  a  sort  of  oven.  It  's  made  of  fire 
clay,  so  that  the  coal  fire  may  come  in  contact 
with  it  on  every  side,  and  thus  generate  an  in 
tense  heat  within.  It  's  perforated,  you  see,  with 
only  very  small  holes,  to  allow  the  fumes  to  es 
cape." 

Dave  now  placed  the  pan  containing  the 
powdered  ore  inside  the  muffle,  leaving  the  door 


RESULT    OF    DAVE'S    ASSAY.  \\J 

open  so  that  he  could  keep  it  constantly  stirred, 
and  it  gradually  came  to  a  full  red. 

"You  see  now, "he  said,  "that  the  fumes 
have  ceased  to  rise  from  the  ore,  so  I  '11  take  the 
pan  out. 

"  The  next  thing  to  do  is  to  mix  the  ore  with 
this  granulated  lead,  called  litharge,  using  twenty 
parts  of  lead  to  one  of  ore,  and  put  the  mixture 
in  this  small  fire-clay  cup  called  a  scorifier.  I 
then  cover  the  charge  over  with  twenty  parts 
more  of  lead,  and  lay  a  little  borax  glass  on  top 
of  the  whole.  This  completes  the  charge. 

"  Now  I  put  the  scorifier  inside  the  muffle  and 
close  the  door.  The  lead  melts  very  quickly, 
so  I  will  have  to  open  the  door  and  you  can  see 
the  ore  on  the  surface  of  the  lead.  You  see 
there  are  fumes  rising.  The  first  are  from  the 
tellurides  and  the  silica  (or  quartz),  and  the  later 
ones  are  from  the  lead.  The  lead  fumes  are  a 
clear  white. 

"Now  the  colors  change  and  become  varie 
gated,  and  you  see  there  's  a  large  bright  bead 
dancing  on  the  surface  inside  the  ring  of  darker 
material. 

"  Now  I  've  got  to  lower  the  heat  slightly,  and 
as  the  heat  grows  less,  you  see  that  the  slag  closes 
over  the  top  of  the  bead. 

"  The  next  thing  is   to    raise   the   heat   again, 


Il8  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

and  this  time  \ve  must  make  it  fierce  and  roaring 
for  a  minute  or  two,  after  which  I  will  take  the 
scorifier  out  of  the  muffle." 

When  Dave  had  done  this,  and  allowed  it  to 
cool  for  a  few  moments,  he  took  the  button  out 
and  hammered  it,  so  as  to  detach  the  brittle  slag, 
or  refuse  portion. 

11  Now,"  he  said,  "  what  we  've  got  here  is  a 
lead  button,  in  which  is  contained  all  the  gold 
and  silver,  and  nothing  else. 

"First,  we  have  got  to  get  rid  of  the  lead, 
and  afterwards  separate  the  gold  from  the  silver. 

"In  disposing  of  the  lead  so  as  to  leave  the 
gold  and  silver  free,  we  use  a  process  called 
*  cupelling.' 

"The  cupel  is  a  small  shallow  cup,  shaped, 
outwardly,  like  a  section  of  a  •  cylinder.  It  is 
made  of  bone-ash,  and  so  porous  that  it  will 
absorb  its  own  weight  of  lead." 

"What's  the  meaning  of  the  word  'cupel,' 
Dave?  "  asked  Phil. 

"  I  don't  know.  Perhaps  Ken  can  tell  us,"  he 
replied. 

"  I  think,"  said  Ken,  "  it  's  from  the  French 
coupcllc,  for  little  cup." 

"  Good!     That  's  plain  enough." 

"  This  operation  of  cupelling,"  resumed  Dave, 
"  is  more  of  a  mechanical  process  than  chemical. 


RESULT    OF    DAVE'S    ASSAY.  I  19 

Under  a  melting  heat  the  porous  bone-ash  of  the 
cupel  simply  absorbs  the  lead  and  leaves  the  but 
ton  of  crold  and  silver  free,  somewhat  as  a  blotter 

o 

will  absorb  water  and   leave  sand. 

"  The  muffle  is  good  and  hot  now,  so  I  select 
a  clean  cupel,  place  it  inside,  and  watch  it  until 
the  muffle  is  at  a  white  heat  and  the  cupel  is  of 
a  bright  cherry  red.  Now  I  take  up  the  button 
with  my  tongs,  place  it  gently  in  the  cupel, 
and  close  the  door. 

"  The  lead  melts  very  quickly,  so  I  must  open 
the  door  to  keep  the  heat  down.  You  see,  there 
are  luminous  flashes  passing  over  the  button,  and 
it  seems  to  be  revolving  from  the  center  outward. 
The  button  is  growing  smaller  and  more  round, 
and  in  a  minute  more  the  lead  will  all  be  absorbed 
by  the  cupel. f ' 

11  Isn't  it  beautiful!  "  cried  Ken.  "  It  gives 
out  prismatic  hues  like  a  diamond." 

"Yes,"  said  Dave,  "this  is  called  '  brighten 
ing  the  button,'  and  it  's  a  critical  stage.  If  it 
gets  too  hot,  some  of  the  mineral  might  pass  away 
in  vapor.  I  have  placed  another  cupel  in  the 
furnace  and  I  will  now  invert  it  over  the  bead,  to 
prevent  it  from  '  spitting.' 

"  I  believe  our  cupelling  is  a  success." 

After  waiting  a  few  moments  Dave  withdrew 
the  cupel  and  easily  removed  the  smooth,  well- 


120  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

rounded  bead.  He  brushed  it  carefully  with  his 
button-brush,  weighed  it  upon  a  pair  of  delicate 
scales,  and  recorded  the  weight. 

"  The  whole  of  our  gold  and  silver  is  in  this 
bead  (or  ought  to  be),"  he  said.  "  The  only 
thing  to  be  done  now  is  to  separate  one  from  the 
other." 

Dave  then  took  the  bead  and  flattened  it  with 
his  hammer,  making  it  as  thin  and  uniform  as 
possible,  and  placed  it  in  a  porcelain  dish.  Then 
he  poured  diluted  nitric  acid  over  it  until  the 
button  was  covered,  and  placed  the  dish  over 
the  fire,  where  he  allowed  it  to  remain  until  it 
came  to  a  moderate  heat. 

"  Nitric  acid  will  absorb  silver  very  readily, 
but  will  not  act  on  gold,"  he  said. 

After  a  minute  or  two  Dave  removed  the  dish 
and  poured  off  the  acid.  Then  he  repeated  the 
process,  but  made  his  acid  somewhat  stronger 
than  before. 

After  he  had  again  poured  away  the  acid  he 
said,  "All  that's  left  in  the  dish  now  is  gold. 
It  looks  black  and  tarnished,  and  is  in  irregular 
grains,  so  I  will  first  dry  it  over  the  fire,  and  then 
I  will  have  to  cupel  it  again  with  lead,  after  rais 
ing  the  muffle  to  a  white  heat.  The  second 
cupelling  is  merely  to  condense  the  grains  into  a 
single  bead,  and  also  to  brighten  it." 


RESULT    OF    DAVE'S   ASSAY.  121 

When  Dave  had  finished  doing  this  he  said,  as 
he  took  up  the  yellow  shining  bead  and  dusted 
it  with  care,  "  Now  we  've  got  the  actual  result 
in  gold.  The  silver  has  all  been  poured  away 
in  the  acid.  I  will  weigh  the  bead,  and  when 
we  subtract  the  figures  from  those  I  set  down  be 
fore  we  shall  have  the  weights  of  both  the  silver 
and  gold." 

Meanwhile  the  boys  were  watching  and  listen 
ing  to  Dave  with  eager  interest. 

After  weighing  the  little  button  with  his  deli 
cate  scales,  Dave  figured  for  a  few  minutes,  went 
over  his  wrork  again  to  check  it,  and  then  an 
nounced  in  a  gay  and  exultant  voice:  "  Boys,  if 
the  sample  we  took  was  a  fair  average  one,  the 
stuff  runs  about  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars 
to  the  ton  in  gold,  and  less  than  a  hundred  dollars 
in  silver." 

There  was  a  shout  of  rapture  from  the  other 
three,  and  Phil  cried,  "  Does  that  mean,  then, 
Dave,  that  from  a  third  to  a  half  of  the  gold  is 
in  the  form  of  tellurides?  " 

"Yes,  Phil.  If  my  assay  is  right,  it  means 
just  that,"  he  replied.  "It  means,  too,  that 
we  could  hardly  ask  for  anything  more  favorable. 
But  I  'm  not  going  to  rest  satisfied  with  this  test. 
I  'm  going  to  pulverize  some  other  pieces,  pick 
ing  out  those  that  don't  show  so  much  free  gold. 


122  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

I  shall  make   several    tests  and   then    I    will  feel 
safer. 

"For  my  part,"  shouted  Phil,  "I  feel  safe 
enough  to  turn  hand-springs!  If  I  were  out  of 
everybody's  sight  that  's  what  I  would  be  doing. 
Say,  Neal,  what  do  you  think  about  the  mine 
now?  " 

"I  'm  feeling  mighty  happy,  Philip.  I  'in 
ready  to  believe  Dave's  assay  is  all  right,  be 
cause  I  thought  the  tellurides  must  be  rich, 
though,  of  course,  I  could  n't  be  sure  of  it.  We 
might  better  go  slow  a  bit,  even  yet.  There  's 
a  cJiance  of  a  mistake,  and  '  there  's  many  a  slip,' 
you  know." 

"  Well,  boys,  I  feel  a  good  deal  as  Phil  does," 
remarked  Ken,  "but  I  know  something  that 
perhaps  will  make  a  fair  substitute  for  hand 
springs.  While  Dave  is  working  here  let  's  go 
and  finish  up  the  surveying.  When  we  've  got 
our  certificates  of  location  all  fixed  up  and  prop 
erly  recorded,  I  '11  feel  as  though  we  have  done 
what  we  ought,  and  not  till  then." 

"That's  the  right  way  to  talk,"  returned 
Neal.  "  Always  keep  your  business  well  in  hand, 
and  you  needn't  feel  much  afraid  of  slips.  But 
how  do  you  s'pose,  Ken,  you  're  going  to  carry 
the  line  up  over  the  other  cliff?  Will  you  tri 
angulate,  same  as  you  did  before?  Jiminy! 


IK  T 


RESULT    OF    DAVF/S    ASSAY.  125 

Come  to  think  of  it,  I  don't  believe  our  exten 
sion  claim  will  reach  clear  to  the  top,  anyway, 
and  it  's  mighty  certain  we  can't  climb  to  any 
place  part  way  up  and  put  in  corner-stakes.  The 
face  of  the  mountain  above  here  is  a  good  deal 
steeper  than  'tis  below." 

"  How  wide  is  this  shelf,    Neal?"   asked  Ken. 

"  It  must  be  close  to  fifteen  or  sixteen  hun 
dred  feet.  Our  first  claim  runs  back  five  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  feet,  so  that  one  thousand 
feet  of  the  extension  claim  will  (as  I  figure  it) 
take  us  to  our  tunnel,  and  the  last  five  hundred 
feet  will  carry  us  just  that  much  up  the  moun 
tain,  or  inside  of  it,  whichever  way  you  like  to 
call  it." 

"  Oh!  well,  then,  if  that  's  the  case,"  replied 
Ken,  "it  will  really  make  our  work  very  much 
easier  than  I  supposed  it  would  be.  We  shall 
only  have  to  set  our  posts  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff, 
and  mark  them  as  '  witness-corners.'  The  notes 
will  then  explain  that  the  true  corners  cannot  be 
set  because  the  mountain  is  inaccessible." 

"Well,  it  won't  take  long  to  do  that,"  re 
turned  Neal.  "  We  can  have  it  all  done  and  you 
can  fix  up  your  notes  for  filing  and  be  ready  for 
supper  before  Dave  is." 

This  turned  out  quite  as  he  said;  so  that  when 
Neal  gave  his  cheery  call  of  "Supper!  Ho!" 


126  THE    Hid- HORN"    TREASURE. 

the  survey  had  long  been  finished,  Ken  had 
completed  his  notes,  and  Dave  was  just  giving 
the  last  touch  to  the  figures  of  his  assay  tests. 

"How's  our  patient,  Neal?"  asked  Ken  as 
they  sat  at  table. 

"  I  'vc  just  taken  his  supper  to  him,"  replied 
Neal.  "  He  thinks  he  feels  pretty  bad  yet,  and 
could  n't  come  out  and  eat  with  us.  I  thought 
I  saw  him  out  once  this  afternoon,  but  I  was 
busy  and  didn't  take  much  notice." 

"He  seems  to  me  a  queer  case.  Don't  you 
think  so,  Neal?"  asked  Dave. 

"Yes;  and  if  I  thought  he  had  half  as  much 
sense  as  either  Sancho  or  Teddy,  I  'd  feel  like 
inviting  him  to  gird  up  his  trousers  and  hunt 
for  that  '  pardner '  of  his;  but  I  guess  he's  a 
sort  of  a  freak.  How  did  you  get  on  with  the 
assays? " 

"  I  made  two  more,  and  both  of  them  from 
samples  that  I  thought  would  give  the  very  fairest 
tests.  They  were  both  low  in  silver,  and  one 
showed  a  little  less  gold,  the  other  more,  than 
our  first  assay.  The  average  is  fully  up  to  our 
first  test." 

"  Dave,"  cried  Phil,  "  let  's  have  your  candid 
opinion.  Don't  you  think  we  have  a  great  prop 
erty  here?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  Dave.       "I  feel  satisfied  now 


RESULT    OF    DAVF/S    ASSAY.  I2/ 

that  we  've  struck  a  ledge  that  is  going  to  show 
something  remarkable." 

"  Hurrah!  "  shouted  Ken.  "Now,  what  do 
you  say,  Neal?  " 

"  I  guess  we  've  got  it,  this  trip,  Ken.  I  'vc 
felt  that  way  for  quite  a  while;  but  I  've  been 
disappointed  so  many  times,  that  I  wanted  to  get 
all  the  pointers  I  could  before  I  began  to  holler 
very  much.  I  '11  tell  you  now  what  I  think 
about  the  vein,  from  the  standpoint  of  my  expe 
rience  and  small  knowledge  of  rock  forma 
tions.  " 

' 'Good!  good!"  exclaimed  the  others  to 
gether.  "  Let  's  have  it,  Neal." 

"  Well,  let  's  clear  away  the  wreck  of  the  sup 
per  first, "  he  replied.  "I'll  feel  easier  in  my 
mind  if  that  's  out  of  sight." 

This  was  soon  accomplished,  and  the  boys 
seated  themselves  around  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NEAL'S  MINERALOGY. 

Neal  seemed  a  trifle  embarrassed  as  he  looked 
around  at  the  boys,  who  were  waiting  for  him  to 
begin. 

4<  I  hope  none  of  you  boys  will  think  I  claim 
to  know  a  whole  lot  about  mineralogy,"  he  said. 
;<  I  'm  only  going  to  tell  what  I  believe;  and  it  's 
chiefly  on  account  of  things  I  've  seen." 

"  Don't  be  too  modest,  Neal.  We  're  all 
willing  to  take  lessons  from  you,"  said  Ken 
warmly. 

Neal  blushed  red  with  pleasure  and  embarrass 
ment,  and  began. 

''You  may  remember  that  I  talked  pretty 
strong  the  other  day  about  how  the  vein  might 
disappoint  us  yet.  So  it  may.  We  can't,  any 
of  us,  live  long  enough  to  get  away  from  the 
reach  of  slips  and  accidents.  What  I  believed 
then  was  the  same  as  to-day;  only  now  my 
faith  is  stronger.  That  's  the  only  difference. 

"I  've  been  afraid  you   boys   wrere   feeling  too 
sure;   but  I  'm   going  to  let  you  sing  now.      The 
128 


NEAI/S    MINERALOGY.  1 29 

chances  arc  in  our  favor,  and  if  we  get  disap 
pointed  in  the  end,  why,  we  're  strong  enough  to 
take  the  medicine;  that  's  all. 

"  Dave  and  I  each  have  our  ideas  about  the 
native  rock  in  these  parts;  and  I  'm  going  to  call 
it  quartz-porphyry.  I  never  saw  any  place  where 
there's  been  more  shaking  up  and  topsy-turvying 
than  riefht  around  here.  This  mountain  is  full 

o 

of  big  dyke  fissures,  made  up  of  lava  that  has 
come  up  from  below  and  filled  the  cracks.  But 
it  ain't  in  those  dyke  veins  that  we  're  to 
look  for  the  gold, — at  least,  for  very  much. 
It  's  silly  to  suppose  that  the  mineral  came  up  in 
big  chunks  or  spots  along  with  the  lava.  You 
see,  there's  a  little  gold  'most  anywhere:  in  all 
rocks  and  in  most  all  water.  If  you  could  get 
down  to  the  interior  of  the  earth, — where 
maybe  it  's  all  a-fire,  and  maybe  it  ain't,  —  you  'd 
probably  find  just  as  much  gold,  and  no  more, 
than  in  the  average  of  all  rocks  here  on  top. 

"  When  you  find  it  in  nuggets  and  pockets  and 
spattered  all  through  the  rock  (as  ours  is),  it  's 
been  gathered  there  afterwards,  a  little  at  a  time, 
and  from  all  directions.  The  rocks  everywhere 
are  changing  all  the  time.  It  takes  thousands 
of  years  from  one  change  to  another;  but  there 
ain't  any  stop  to  rest,  you  bet!  Nature  is  a 
terrible  hustler. 


130  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Now,  any  man  who  watches  and  studies  the 
thing  can  see  that  whenever  you  find  a  real 
quartz  or  "  true-fissure "  vein  that  cuts  right 
through  a  lot  of  different  kinds  of  rock,  it  's 
there  you  're  liable  to  find  more  gold  than  in 
uniform  rocks.  Sometimes  you  '11  find  a  little 
gold  in  the  trap  dykes  that  seem  to  boil  up  from 
'way  below  the  primeval  granite ;  but  when  you 
do,  it  's  liable  to  be  on  the  edges.  How  do 
you  account  for  it? 

"It  means  that  the  gold  has  collected  there 
since  the  rocks  were  formed.  It  has  moved 
toward  certain  points:  has  worked  and  squeezed 
its  way  through  the  little  pores  and  seams  of 
the  solid  rocks,  and  was  carried  along,  in  solu 
tion,  by  some  kind  of  an  acid  or  mineral  salt. 

"Now,  the  quartz  veins,  where  gold  is  gen 
erally  found,  are  simply  the  places  that  are  most 
favorable  for  collecting  it.  The  only  way  a 
quartz  vein  can  be  compared  to  a  trap  dyke  is, 
that  both  of  them  are  composed  of  stuffs  that  fill 
up  gashes  in  the  earth.  The  dyke  is  filled  with 
lava  from  below;  but  the  quartz  vein  don't  go 
clear  down  into  the  original  granite  at  all,  and 
the  quartz  and  other  stuff  that  's  in  it  came  in 
from  the  sides. 

"Quartz  is  nearly  pure  silica  in  the  form  of 
crystals.  As  silica  is  the  commonest  material  in 


NEAL'S  MIXKKALOCV.  131 

all  rocks,  it  's  natural  that  the  acids,  or  hot  salts, 
should  carry  it  into  the  veins  first  and  crystallize 
it  into  quartz.  The  same  salts  carry  along  little 
particles  of  gold  and  leave  them  in  the  cavities 
between  the  crystals. 

"By  and  by  (remember,  nature  keeps  things 
a-moving),  maybe  another  form  of  salt  comes 
along  and  acts  on  these  same  gold  grains,  dis 
solves  them,  and  carries  them  farther  down  below, 
where  they  are  deposited  again  in  larger  chunks; 
and  so,  you  see,  we  get  rich  pockets  like  ours,  or 
the  big  nuggets  that  are  sometimes  found.  This 
work  has  been  going  on  ever  since  the  world  was 
made:  gathering,  dissolving,  leaching,  deposit 
ing;  and  is  called  by  scientists  'lix-iv-i-a-tion. ' 
I  love  a  grand,  big  word  like  that.  It  's  one 
of  the  finest  I  ever  knew.  You  see,  when  you 
throw  it  out,  sort  of  careless-like,  people  respect 
you.  They  don't  know  what  it  means,  and 
think  you  're  mighty  wise.  Lix-iv-i-a-tion. 
Ain't  she  fine?  I  got  her  from  Dave." 

The  boys  laughed  long  and  merrily  at  Neal's 
droll  way. 

When  they  paused,  at  length,  Ken  said: 
"You  think,  then,  Neal,  that  our  vein  is  more 
apt  to  be  rich  because  it  cuts  through  different 
kinds  of  rocks?  " 

"Yes,  that's   it.       The    more,  the    better,   as 


132  THE    HIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

long  as  they  're  stratified  or  metamorphic  rocks. 
You  can  see,  too,  why  I  think  we're  fully  as  apt 
to  find  it  rich  below  as  above;  on  account  of  the 
lix —  the  leaching  process.  Its  effect  on  gold, 
though,  don't  seem  to  reach  only  to  a  certain 
depth." 

The  boys  were  warm  in  their  praises  of  Neal's 
way  of  setting  forth  his  ideas. 

Ken  exclaimed:  "  Neal,  that's  the  clearest 
and  finest  statement  of  the  subject  I  ever 
heard!  I'm  sure  it  must  be  right  too;  and  I 
thank  you  for  it." 

Then  they  drifted  into  a  discussion  of  what 
their  plan  of  work  would  be  in  the  morning. 

Suddenly  Dave  spoke:  "  What's  that  noise, 
Neal?"  as  a  sound,  first  a  slight  jar,  as  of  some 
thing  falling,  then  what  seemed  like  a  grunted 
oath,  followed  by  a  deep  groan,  came  to  their 
ears. 

They  were  sitting  by  the  fire,  in  front  of  the 
tent,  and  the  sound  came  from  the  rear. 

All  sprang  to  their  feet  and  ran  around  to  the 
back  of  the  tent,  where  they  found  their  invalid, 
who  was  struggling  to  his  feet.  He  had  fallen 
over  a  tent-rope. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  demanded 
Dave,  sharply. 

"I  wanted   er  drink  o'  water  an'   come   over 


NEAL'S  MINERALOGY.  133 

from  th'  other  tent.  I  couldn't  see  an'  fell  over 
the  rope." 

Dave  and  Neal  looked  at  each  other.  Then 
Neal  said  slowly:  "  Plenty  of  water  'round  here; 
and  it  's  cheap;  but  wre  don't  want  people  prowl 
ing  about  our  camp,  even  to  get  a  drink.  Now, 
you  get  back  to  your  tent,  and  stay  there.  I  '11 
fetch  you  some  water." 

The  man  muttered  something,  and  went 
toward  his  tent. 

"  I  don't  feel  very  easy  about  that  fellows 
Neal,  "said  Dave.  ''I  suppose  he's  only  un 
fortunate,  but  I  '11  be  glad  when  he  's  gone." 

''Well,  I  feel  almost  the  same  way;  but  he 
can't  be  more  than  half-witted,  and  can't  do  us 
any  harm.  If  't  wasn't  for  that,  I  would  think 
he  'd  been  listening." 

"  I  think  we  can  afford  to  take  chances  on  any 
injury  a  poor  wreck  of  a  thing  like  that 
could  do  us,  even  if  he  has  listened,"  remarked 
Phil. 

"  The  only  thing  that  bothers  me,"  said  Ken, 
"  is  to  know  what  we  are  going  to  do  with  him. 
I  don't  believe  he  's  capable  of  taking  care  of 
himself  if  we  turn  him  loose.  In  fact,  we 
mustn't  send  him  away  alone  until  he  is  much 
better  than  he  is  now.  He  might  wander  off 
and  die." 


134  THE    P.K; -HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Let  's  hope  he  will  get  better  mighty  soon, 
then,"  returned  Dave. 

They  all  returned  to  the  fire  and  sat  in  silence 
for  some  little  time,  until  Ne.il  returned  from  his 
errand  of  water-carrying  to  the  sick  man. 

"  What  's  that  rattling  the  supper  dishes  over 
there,  Neal?  Is  it  a  mouse?"  asked  Phil. 

"It's  a  mountain  rat.  Do  you  know  the 
beast?"  Neal  replied. 

"  No.      Are  there  wild  rats  up  here?" 

"  Yes,  they  're  wild  enough,  in  one  way;  but 
they  sometimes  get  to  be  a  nuisance  too." 

"Are  they  at  all  like  our  vermin  in  the 
towns?  " 

"No;  they  don't  seem  much  like  rats,  except 
in  their  size  and  their  way  of  hanging  'round 
where  people  are.  They  are  comical  little 
duffers,  and  you  '11  get  well  enough  acquainted. 
There  's  plenty  of  'em  around  here." 

"Say!  Fellows!  (Excuse  me  for  interrupt 
ing,  Phil.)  What  do  you  think  of  our  going  right 
ahead  and  riling  our  location  certificates?  "  inter 
posed  Ken. 

"  I  think  it  's  a  good  idea  to  have  it  attended 
to  and  out  of  the  way,"  said  Dave.  "It's 
quite  a  task  to  do  it,  though.  I  suppose  we  will 
all  have  to  go  over  to  Gunnison ;  and  it  will 
take  several  days,  perhaps,  to  clean  it  all  up." 


NEAL'S  MINERALOGY.  135 

"How's  that,  Dave?"  asked  Phil.  "Shall 
we  all  have  to  go  together?  " 

"  We  can't  all  leave  at  once.  Somebody  must 
stay  to  watch  camp;  but,  you  see,  there  are  two 
claims  to  be  sworn  to,  and  that  means  that  Neal 
and  Ken  must  both  go.  Each  claimant  ought 
to  have  two  witnesses,  so  that,  as  far  as  I  can  see 
now,  it  may  take  the  rest  of  us.  How  does  it 
strike  you,  Neal?" 

"  We  've  got  to  do  a  little  work,  first  of  all," 
replied  Neal.  "  There  has  n't  been  enough  de 
velopment  work  on  claim  Number  One.  We 
know  where  the  vein  is,  and  all  that,  but  to  live 
up  to  the  law,  we  must  do  some  work  on  each 
claim,  locate  a  'place  of  discovery,'  and  call  it  a 
'discovery  shaft'  or  'pit'  or  'tunnel,'  and 
say  at  what  point  on  the  vein  it  is.  It  won't 
take  very  long  to  do  that.  I  suppose  the  best 
place  to  do  it  is  right  at  the  edge  of  the  lower 
cliff. 

"  When  we  've  done  this,  we  might  as  well  go 
right  along  and  fix  up  the  filing.  It  '11  be  safer. 
There  's  a  lot  of  other  things  that  ought  to  be 
done,  though,  and  I  sort  of  grudge  the  time. 
\Ve  had  better  do  the  work  on  the  vein  right 
off,  anyway,  and  then  we  can  decide  whether  it  's 
best  to  attend  to  the  filing  first  of  all." 


130  Till:    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

When  they  had  turned  in  for  the  night  it 
needed  little  more  than  a  comfortable  stretching 
of  the  limbs,  one  or  two  deep,  gratified  breaths, 
and  one  and  all  dropped  quickly  away  into  the 
land  of  dreams  and  sound,  refreshing  sleep. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PASSING  OF  THE  "SICK   MAN,"  AND  ITS  CON 
SEQUENCES. 

The  morning  came  clear,  crisp,  and  fresh  as 
usual,  although  there  had  been  a  slight  rain 
during  the  night. 

Ken  and  Phil  had  already  begun  to  shoulder 
their  part  of  the  camp  drudgery;  so,  while  Neal 
and  Dave  set  about  making  the  fire  and  preparing 
breakfast.  Ken  was  chopping  and  carrying  wood, 
and  Phil  came  from  the  lake  with  two  pails  of 
water. 

"  I  've  found,"  said  Ken,  "that,  up  here  in 
this  altitude,  the  thing  for  a  fellow  to  do  when  he 
gets  up  in  the  morning  is  to  hustle  around  lively 
for  a  while,  if  he  wants  to  feel  first  rate.  When 
I  've  got  the  blood  to  chasing  itself  through  my 
veins,  it's  perfect  happiness  merely  to  draw  my 
breath.  The  air  is  better  than  wine." 

"Yes,"  cried  Phil,  "  and  the  color  and  beauty 
of  it!  Could  the  finest  description  ever  written 
give  any  idea  of  such  a  combination  as  that? 
Look,  Ken !  The  sun  is  right  behind  old 


138  TIIK    r.IG-IIORX    TREASURE. 

Grizzly,  and  over  beyond  he  has  spread  a  wash 
like  brilliant  metal  all  over  the  side  of  Maroon 
and  Snow-Mass  peaks.  And  then  the  effects  of 
the  Hying  white  clouds  overhead  and  that  purple 
mist  clown  below." 

"  Yes,  Phil,  I  think  I  shall  never  crow  tired  of 

o 

it.  It  always  seems  as  if  I  had  never  lived  until 
I  came  to  the  mountains." 

tk  Breakfast!  "  shouted  Xeal.  "I  guess  I  '11 
see,  first,  what  sort  of  an  order  I  must  send  in  to 
the  'nursery'  this  morning." 

"  Hello!  "  he  called,  as  he  re-appeared  from 
the  other  tent.  "  Have  any  of  you  boys  seen 
the  infant?  He  ain't  here." 

"Why,  no!"  they  answered,  one  after  an 
other.  Where  do  you  suppose  he  is?" 

"He  hasn't  been  around  here  since  we  got 
up,  and  must  have  left  the  tent  before  day 
break,"  said  Ken.  "I'm  afraid  he 's  wandered 
away  in  another  fit  of  delirium,  and  something 
happened  to  him." 

Ncal,  meanwhile,  was  looking  at  the  ground, 
and  walking  in  the  direction  of  the  trail. 

o 

"Go  ahead  with    breakfast,  boys,"    he  called. 

"  I  '11   be  back  in   a  few  minutes." 

So   they    sat   do\vn,    Dave    remarking,    "  I  Ve 

been   almost  afraid  you    fellows  would   think  me 

harsh   and    ungenerous    toward    that    man;    but, 


TIIK    PASSING    OF    THE    "SICK    MAN. 

from  the  very  first,  I  could  n't  help  thinking  he 
seemed  like  a  fraud.  I  could  see  that  Ncal  felt 
the  same,  — as  far  as  his  instinct  went,  — but  he 
sympathized  with  the  fellow's  apparent  weak 
mind." 

"  Then  do  you  think,  Dave,  that  he  has  been 
shamming?  "  asked  Phil. 

"  Yes,  that  's  just  what  I  think.  I  believe  he 
had  an  object  in  coming  here:  that  he  has  been 
spying  on  us;  and  that  now  he  has  slipped  away, 
taking  whatever  information  he  wanted  along  with 
him. " 

"  Oh  !  I  can't  believe  that !  "  said  Ken.  "  The 
man  was  sick  when  we  found  him  on  the  trail. 
You  would  think  so,  too,  Dave,  if  you  had  seen 
him  then.  But  here  comes  Neal.  Perhaps  he 
has  learned  something. 

"  I  don't  know  yet  just  how  it  's  going  to 
figure  out,  but  there  's  a  game  in  it  somewhere, 
and  it  ain't  a  square  one,  either,"  said  Neal  as 
he  sat  down.  I  've  been  over  to  where  the  trail 
leaves  the  plateau,  going  down  along  the  wall  of 
the  mountain,  and  I  can't  see  any  trace  of  him. 
The  rain  of  last  night  washed  dirt  over  the 
trail,  and  he  could  n't  get  by  without  leaving 
foot-marks;  so  he  didn't  go  down  that  way, —  at 
least,  since  the  rain." 

"Then    he    has   wandered    out   in   the  night," 


140  TIIK    P.IG-HORX    TREASURE. 

cried  Ken,  "and  may  have  fallen  into  the  lake, 
or  over  the  cliff!  We  must  look  for  him." 

"  Yes,  we  '11  look  for  him,"  said  Neal,  between 
his  sips  of  coffee,  "but  I  '11  offer  big  odds  that 
we  don't  find  either  him  or  his  remains." 

"  What  do  you  think,  then,  Neal?  "  asked  Phil. 

"  I  think  he  's  left  us  by  some  other  way,"  was 
the  reply. 

"  But  there  is  no  other  way." 

"  I  '11  know7  for  certain  about  that,  Phil,  after 
I  make  a  careful  examination.  There  's  three  or 
four  things  possible.  He  may  have  walked  over 
the  cliff  in  the  dark:  he  maybe  here  yet,  or  he 
may  have  gone  clown  the  trail  in  the  night,  before 
it  rained,  or  —  he's  found  another  way  to  get 
down.  The  last  is  what  I'm  betting  on." 

"It  doesn't  seem  reasonable  that  he  could 
have  gone  about  here  in  the  night,  or  before  day 
break,  and  found  something  that  we  've  never 
discovered  in  the  weeks  we  've  been  here,  Neal," 
said  Dave. 

"Say,  fellows!"  interposed  Phil.  "The 
thought  strikes  me  just  nowr  that  we  were  so 
intent  upon  our  work  yesterday,  —  and  we  were 
away  part  of  the  time,  too,  —  that  the  fellow  had 
chances  enough  to  slip  into  the  bushes.  He 
might  have  spent  most  of  the  afternoon  explor 
ing  the  shelf." 


THE    PASSING    OF    THE    "SICK    MAN."      141 

"•  You  've  hit  the  nail  on  the  head,  Phil,"  said 
Neal,  as  he  rose  from  the  table.  ' '  I  feel  pretty  sure 
I  know  just  what  he  did,  and  almost  how  he  did  it. 
If  you  boys  feel  like  going  to  work  on  the  new 
shaft,  I  '11  go  out  on  a  little  still-hunt;  and  I  '11 
bring  you  some  news  before  long.  Oh!  ain't  I 
ashamed  of  myself,  though?  I  've  always  thought 
I  had  as  big  a  brain-pan  as  an  average  Digger 
Injun;  but  here  's  this  little  sneak  we  've  tucked 
up  in  bed  and  fed  with  a  spoon,  that  's  all  the 
time  been  laughing  at  us  for  a  lot  of  coddles  and 
weak  sisters.  It  makes  life  a  burden." 

He  took  his  rifle  from  the  tent,  and  vanished 
among  the  bushes. 

Then  the  boys  seized  each  a  shovel  or  a  pick, 
and  wrent  vigorously  to  work  upon  the  new  shaft, 
or  "  open-cut,"  as  Dave  termed  it. 

Little  was  said  for  an  hour  or  more;  all  being 
engrossed  with  their  work  and  with  their  own 
thoughts. 

At  the  end  of  that  time  Neal  returned,  carry 
ing  something  white  in  his  hand.  He  passed  it  to 
Ken,  who  saw  it  was  a  handful  of  scraps  of  paper. 

"  Where  do  you  suppose  I  found  these,  Ken?  " 
he  asked. 

Ken  turned  them  over  in  his  hands,  and  then 
exclaimed  in  astonishment,  "  It  's  my  location 
certificate!  Why,  they  're  both  here!  " 


142  THE    BIG-HORN    TRKASURK. 

"Where  did  you  get  them,  and  who  tore 
them  up?  " 

"  The  most  interesting  part  of  it  is  the  place 
where  I  found  'em.  You  would  n't  guess,  be 
cause  none  of  you  have  been  there.  I  found  the 
pieces  over  in  the  far  corner  of  the  plateau,  be 
yond  the  lake. 

"  Now  you  can  guess  who  tore  them  up. 
We  've  been  so  busy  since  we  struck  our  ledee 

J  o 

that  we  've  never  explored  the  neighborhood, 
small,  even,  as  'tis.  I  've  always  thought  there 
might  be  a  chance  to  get  up  and  down  by  w^ay  of 
the  northwest  wall,  but,  besides  being  busy,  it 
has  n't  seemed  easy  to  get  over  there.  The  lake 
and  the  outlet  —  you  know — cut  the  plateau 
right  in  two.  There  ain't  very  much  ground 
over  there,  'specially  beyond  the  ridge  of  rocks 
that  's  next  to  the  lake  and  the  upper  cliff. 

"Well,  I  struck  off  towards  the  lake  from 
here,  and  followed  the  edge  around  till  I  came 
to  the  outlet.  Something  made  me  think  our 
'  sick  man  '  had  gone  that  way  when  he  said 
'  by-by.'  When  I  got  to  the  creek  I  followed  it 
down  a  little  piece,  when  I  came  to  a  dead  pine 
that  's  only  just  dropped  across,  because  I  know 
't  was  n't  there  a  few  days  ago. 

"You  see,  this  blooming  babe  we  've  been 
nursing  here  took  a  stroll  yesterday,  found  a 


PASSING    OF    THE    "SICK    MAX."        143 

dead  tree  that  he  could  push  over,  and  kept 
going  right  along.  He  crossed  on  his  bridge, 
scrambled  through  the  brush  and  over  the  rocks 
to  the  far  end,  and  there  he  found  a  chance  to 
get  away  from  here  on  that  side." 

"It  doesn't  seem  possible!"  said  Phil. 
"  From  the  other  side  of  the  valley  it  looks  like 
a  sheer  wall. " 

"It  ain't  any  stage  road,  nor  even  a  burro- 
path ;  but  there's  a  chance  for  a  good  man  to 
get  up  and  down  ;  right  along  the  face  too.  I 
ain't  sure  but  there  's  a  better  natural  show  for  a 
trail,  even,  than  where  ours  is.  Anyhow,  he 
took  it,  this  morning,  and  he  left  the  certificates 
behind  him.  He  threw  the  pieces  into  a  crevice 
between  two  rocks,  where  I  spied  'em  and 
scraped  'em  out.  I  'm  through  chattering  now. 
I  '11  let  the  rest  of  you  talk." 

There  was  a  blazing  fire  in  Neal's  eyes  which 
told  of  his  honest  wrath,  and  Ken  thought  it 
was  a  fortunate  thing  for  their  late  guest  that  he 
had  not  been  overtaken. 

"  It  must  be  a  dreadfully  low  and  depraved 
nature  that  could  stoop  to  such  means,  and  I 
can't  understand  his  object  even  now,"  he 
said. 

"  His  object,  Ken,  was  to  find  out  all  about 
our  property,"  said  Dave.  "  There  's  a  scheme, 


144  THE    1UG -HORN    TREASURE. 

somewhere  —  and  he's  at  the  head  of  it to 

make  trouble  for  us,  provided  we  have  something 
here  that  's  worth  troubling  about.  There  must 
be  others  in  it,  and  I  should  think  they  are  not 
very  far  from  here.  At  least,  they  have  seen 
our  camp  from  some  of  the  hills,  and  he  came  to 
spy.  He  knows  all  about  it  now." 

"  But  what  good  can  it  do  him?  What  did  he 
want  to  steal  our  certificates  and  destroy  them 
for?" 

"Oh!  I  ain't  afraid  of  its  doing  him  any 
good!"  exclaimed  Neal.  "We're  the  dis 
coverers,  and  we're  in  possession.  What  bothers 
me  worst  is  the  thought  that  he  played  us 
so  beautifully,  and  got  away.  There  's  a  ganij 

«/    7  O  J  o  o 

of  'em  somewhere,  of  course;  and  we  will 
hear  from  'em  again;  but  just  how,  nobody 
knows. " 

"  I  believe  I  can  see  through  his  scheme," 
said  Dave.  What  would  he  want  of  our  location 
certificates  but  to  copy  them?  His  tearing  them 
up  pioves  that.  He  's  got  all  the  points.  He 
will  use  our  figures  and  our  data,  make  out  new 
certificates,  put  in  other  names,  and  file  on  this 
same  property  of  ours !  ' ' 

Neal  gave  a  long  whistle. 

"Dave,"  he  cried,  "you've  hit  it;  sure  as 
you  live!  If  they  do  that  and  get  in  ahead  of 


TIIK    PASSING    OF    THE    "SICK    MAX."       145 

us,  they  can  make  a  lot  of  trouble,  even  if  we 
hold  possession.  They  might  get  a  crowd  of 
toughs  to  swear  that  they  were  here  first,  and  we 
drove  'em  off. " 

"  But  I  never  heard  of  anything  so  outrageous 
as  that!  "  cried  Ken.  "It  can't  be  possible!  " 

"  Many  things  as  bad,  and  worse,  have  hap 
pened  in  the  mountains,"  replied  Dave.  "The 
thing  for  us  to  do  now  is  to  hustle.  They  can't 
beat  us  in  recording  the  certificates  if  we  go 
about  it  on  the  run.  I  'm  sure  that  's  the  trick 
they  will  be  up  to.  I  don't  suppose  they  will 
think  of  such  a  thing  as  trying  to  get  the  claims 
away  from  us  by  'jumping.'  Do  you,  Neal?" 

"  I  wish  that  was  the  only  thing  to  fear,"  re 
plied  Neal.  It  would  be  only  fun  to  have  that 
kind  of  a  brush  with  the  sneaks.  We  could  hold 
the  place  against  fifty  of  'em.  No.  They  won't 
try  that.  Not  now,  anyway." 

"For  my  part,"  returned  Dave,  "it  would 
give  me  more  satisfaction  now  to  outwit  them 
than  to  give  them  a  thrashing.  If  they  force  a 
fight,  they  can  have  it,  and  welcome;  but  they 
must  take  us  for  a  lot  of  boobies,  and  I  long  to 
show  them  their  mistake. ' ' 

"  Well,  I  don't  want  to  seem  selfish  and  grasp 
ing,"  said  Neal,  "but  I  'm  going  to  dare  hope 
for  both.  Now,  then;  let's  to  work!"  We 


146  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

will  finish  up  the  open  cut,  and  lay  our  plans  for 
to-morrow.  We  've  got  to  act  quick  as  well  as 
careful. " 

Before  noon  they  had  removed  the  earth  from 
the  top  of  the  vein  for  a  considerable  space.  A 
charge  of  giant-powder  was  then  exploded,  which 
tore  loose  a  quantity  of  quartz  showing  free 
gold,  and  their  labors  in  this  spot  were,  for  the 
present,  concluded. 

At  the  noon  hour  a  council  and  comparison 
of  notes  was  held,  with  the  result  that  it  was 
decided  to  have  three  of  the  party  proceed  to 
Gunnison,  one  remaining  to  guard  the  camp. 

Dave  insisted  on  remaining  alone,  although 
under  strong  protest  from  the  others. 

He  said,  "There  will  be  no  use,  I  think, 
in  making  the  trip  with  fewer  than  three  persons. 
Neal  and  Ken  have  each  got  to  file  their  own  cer 
tificates,  and  will  need  two  witnesses.  I  think 
now  that  each  can  witness  for  the  other,  and 
Phil  will  be  second  man,  to  act  for  both  claimants. 
As  for  my  staying  here  alone,  it  's  not  a  se 
rious  thing,  even  if  it  is  a  little  lonesome.  I  will 
get  along  all  right,  and  there  's  plenty  of  work 
to  keep  me  busy." 

"All  the  same,  I  don't  like  the  idea,"  said 
Neal,"  but  I  s'pose  it  's  got  to  be, —  for  this  once. 
What  will  you  drive  at  while  we  're  away?  " 


:*L4 


"AT  THE  NOON  HOUR  A  COUNCIL  WAS  HI 


THE    PASSING    OF    THE    "SICK    MAN."      149 

"  I  can  work  in  the  tunnel,  although  I  can't 
accomplish  very  much  there  alone ;  I  can  chop 
wood,  or  hunt  (we  shall  need  more  mutton); 
or,  what  I  prefer  doing  is  to  work  at  building  a 
house.  If  you  are  gone  long  enough,  and  I  can 
get  the  jacks  to  do  such  mean  work  as  hauling 
logs,  I  may  have  a  new  residence  all  ready  to 
move  into  when  you  get  back." 

"  No  fear  of  that.  We  won't  be  away  longer 
than  three  days,  at  the  most,"  said  Neal. 

"  But  can  you  do  it  within  that  time?" 

"  Yes,  barring  accidents,"  he  said.  "  Instead 
of  going  'way  around,  I  'm  going  across, —  or 
try  it.  I  know  a  notch  in  the  range  that  will 
give  us  a  good  chance  to  get  over  on  to  the  East 
Fork.  I  believe  we  can  go  through  in  one 
day." 

In  the  afternoon  Ken  prepared  new  location 
certificates,  which  he  was  easily  able  to  do  from 
the  memoranda  he  had  made. 

Neal  had  disappeared  from  sight  immediately 
after  dinner. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  there  came  reports 
of  four  loud  blasts,  and,  shortly,  Neal  reap 
peared,  remarking,  as  he  laid  down  his  hammer 
and  drill,  "The  infant  won't  ever  bring  his 
chummies  back  here  by  the  route  he  traveled. 
I  've  blown  away  the  whole  upper  end  of  the 


150  THK    BIG -HORN    TRKASURK. 

trail.  The  only  place  you  need  watch,  Dave,  is 
our  old  trail  here. " 

"  I  'm  glad  you  did  that,  Neal,"  said  Phil.  It 
makes  me  feel  easier  about  Dave  being  here  all 
alone. " 

"  I  don't  think  there  's  one  chance  in  a  hun 
dred  that  there  will  be  a  visitor  here  while  we 
are  away,"  said  Neal,  "They've  got  some 
thing  else  to  think  of,  just  now.  It  's  only  the 
idea,  on  general  principles,  of  Dave's  being 
alone  here  that  bothers  me." 

"Don't  worry  over  me,  boys!"  said  Dave. 
"  I  shall  be  all  right.  Another  thing,  Neal.  You 
know  the  provisions  are  getting  low;  and  it  's 
just  as  well  to  have  this  filing  done  now.  You 
can  arrange  to  stock  up  with  everything  we  want. 
We  shall  need  a  heavy  supply,  as  there  are  four 
of  us  to  eat,  and  we  don't  want  to  be  bothered 
with  it  again  for  a  good  while.  We  ought  to 
plan  some  other  way  of  getting  them  here,  than 
with  our  own  burros." 

"Yes,  I  've  been  thinking  about  that,  Dave. 
I  don't  believe  we  ought  to  try  to  pack  stuff  in 
with  our  own  jacks.  It  would  take  too  much 
time,  and  time  is  too  valuable  to  waste  now  in 
driving  our  animals  over  to  Gunnison.  The 
scheme  I  favor  is,  to  hire  a  train  of  burros,  or 


THE    PASSING    OF    THE    kiSICK    MAN."       151 

mules,  and  run  the   stuff  all  in  at  one  trip.      We 
fellows  will  talk  it  over  as  we  go." 

Before  night  everything  was  in  readiness,  and 
at  daybreak  the  following  morning  the  party  \vas 
on  its  way  down  the  trail. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PHIL'S    LOST    TRAIL  — THE    AGILE    INVALID. 

The  route  Neal  had  chosen  was  to  leave  the 
trail  at  the  ice  bridge  and  climb  the  intervening 
range  which  separated  them  from  another  valley 
on  its  easterly  side. 

This,  he  said,  would  give  them  the  advantage 
of  a  comparatively  straight  course  and  much 
shorter  distance  to  Gunnison,  the  county  scat. 

They  made  such  good  progress  that  long 
before  noon  they  reached  the  summit  of  the 
divide,  and  could  look  far  down  the  valley  they 
were  expecting  to  traverse. 

"We  're  doing  first  rate,"  said  Neal.  "  We'll 
rest  here  a  little  while,  and  have  a  bite  of  lunch. 
If  we  can  make  twenty  miles  from  here  before 
dark,  we  will  strike  a  road  that's  good  enough  to 
travel  on  in  the  night,  and  ought  to  take  us  into 
Gunnison  by  nine  o'clock.  Do  you  think  we  're 
good  for  that  much  of  a  tramp,  boys?" 

"  I  am,"  said  Ken,  "and  Phil  seems  to  think 
he  is  able,  generally,  to  do  more  than  I.  Don't 
spare  us.  We  can  follow  you." 

"  All  right.  We'll  sit  here  long  enough  to  get 
152 


PHIL'S    LOST    TRAIL.  153 

our  wind  into  good  shape.      It   will  be  time  well 
spent,"  he  replied. 

"Say,  Neal !  What  kind  of  an  animal  is  that 
yonder,  among  the  rocks?"  asked  Phil. 

"  The  little  fellow?     O,  that  's  a  coney!  " 

"  A  coney?  I  didn't  know  there  was  such  an 
animal  in  the  mountains.  I  've  read  of  conies  in 
natural  history;  and  is  n't  there  something  in  the 
Old  Testament  about  conies  living  among  the 
rocks?  but  I  know  nothing  about  them." 

"What  a  strange  cry  he  has,"  said  Ken,  as 
the  little  animal  in  question  sat  erect  on  his 
haunches,  eyeing  the  intruders,  and  cried  ' '  skink 
in  a  tone  similar  to  the  creaking  of  a  signboard 
on  its  rusty  hinges.  He  was  smaller  than  a  red 
squirrel,  with  no  tail  worth  mentioning,  and 
shaped  somewhere  between  a  guinea-pig  and  a 
hare. 

"  He  looks  just  like  a  hare  or  a  rabbit  —  or 
would  if  his  ears  were  a  trifle  longer/'  said 
Phil. 

"  That 's  the  family  he  belongs  to,"  replied 
Neal.  "He  is  said  to  be  the  smallest  of  the 
hares.  They  live  in  the  rocks  and  in  high  alti 
tudes.  In  fact,  the  most  of  'em  I  've  seen  have 
been  at  about  the  upper  edge  of  timber-line. 
I  'm  told  they  hide  away  and  go  to  sleep  in  the 
winter, — '  hibernate,'  I  think  they  call  it." 


154  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

'  I  wish  I  could  get  one,  or  get  close  enough 
to  examine  it  better,"  said  Phil. 

"  I  'm  afraid  you  won't  do  either,"  said  Neal. 
"They  are  quick  as  a  flash.  The  only  one  I 
ever  had  in  my  hand  was  a  dead  one  I  picked  up 
on  a  hillside,  where  he  had  been  killed  by  sliding 
rock.  Try  a  shot  at  him  with  your  revolver. 
You  need  n't  mind  about  the  cruelty  of  it. 
He  '11  dodge  the  bullet  every  time." 

Phil  was  not  one  of  those  persons  who  are 
governed  by  the  senseless  sportsman's  instinct  to 
kill  any  and  every  wild  thing  which  comes  within 
range,  but  he  was  quite  interested  in  the  little 
animal,  and  really  quite  anxious  to  examine  it 
closely,  and  besides,  Neal's  remark  stirred  his 
pride  a  little,  as  he  regarded  himself  a  good  shot. 
So,  drawing  his  revolver,  and  aiming  carefully 
at  its  head,  he  fired. 

"  Go  and  pick  up  your  game,  Phil,"  laughed 
Ken. 

Phil  ran  to  the  spot  where  the  coney  had  sat  a 
moment  before,  but  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but 
a  crevice  between  the  rocks,  showing  which  wray 
he  had  gone. 

"  Well!  "  he  exclaimed,  "  that  was  the  quick 
est  somerset  I  ever  saw!  In  fact,  I  did  n't  see 
it  at  all.  I  '11  bet  he  can't  do  it  again." 

He  returned  to  his  seat  and  waited. 


PHIL'S    LOST    TRAIL.  155 

In  a  few  minutes  there  came  another  faint 
"skink"  from  a  point  a  few  feet  to  the  right 
of  the  previous  place,  and  a  head  and  pair  of 
bn'eht  eves  showed  themselves. 

o  J 

Taking  a  still  more  careful  aim,  Phil  pulled  the 
trigger;  but  with  no  other  result  than  before. 

"  Gracious!  Was  anything  ever  so  quick?  Of 
course,  it  's  possible  that  my  bullets  went  to  the 
side,  or  above  him;  but  I  don't  think  so." 

"  No,  I  believe  they  dodge  at  the  flash  of  the 
gun,"  said  Neal.  "At  least,  I  've  never  been 
able  to  get  one.  Well,  let  's  be  moving." 

"  All  right,  Neal,"  returned  Phil.  "  You  and 
Ken  go  ahead,  and  I  will  follow  you  in  two 
minutes.  I  want  to  have  one  more  try  at  that 
little  scamp." 

"  We  are  going  to  walk  pretty  fast,  Phil;  so 
don't  loiter,"  enjoined  Ken;  and  the  two  started 
off  down  the  mountain. 

Now,  whether  it  was  that  in  his  eagerness  Phil 
did  not  take  proper  notice  of  the  lapse  of  time, 
or  merely  that  he  felt  undue  confidence  in  his 
ability  to  quickly  overtake  the  others,  he  tried 
one,  two,  and  three  shots  in  succession.  As  he 
had  to  wait  an  interval  after  each  shot  before  the 
coney  reappeared,  quite  a  number  of  minutes 
passed  by. 

"Well,   I 've  got   to   give  the   skeesicks   up," 


156  THE    DIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

he    said,  after    the  third  trial,    and    thrustincf    his 

o 

pistol  into  his  pocket,  he  started  into  a  run  clown 
the  slope,  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  others. 

About  three  quarters  of  a  mile  ahead,  and  be 
low  him,  was  a  broad  belt  of  aspen  trees;  and 
thinking  Neal  and  Ken  had  passed  beyond  and 
were  obscured  from  his  view  by  the  foliage,  he 
made  directly  for  the  grove  with  rapid  strides. 

When  he  emerged  from  the  trees  on  the  lower 
side,  the  boys  were  not  to  be  seen.  But  failing, 
in  his  heat  and  haste,  to  take  proper  notice  of 
the  sun  as  a  guide  to  his  course,  the  thickly 
standing  trees  had  somewhat  confused  and  turned 
him  about,  so  that,  seeing  a  ravine  directly  ahead 
of  him,  which  sloped  away,  apparently  in  the  right 
direction,  he  plunged  into  it  without  hesitation. 

He  rushed  along  at  a  loping  gait  for  some  time 
before  he  realized  that  the  ravine  was  growing 
more  and  more  winding  and  tortuous,  and  more 
difficult  to  traverse. 

Then  he  stopped  with  a  startled  feeling. 

''Why!  The  boys  can't  have  gone  down 
here,"  he  exclaimed.  "  I  believe  it  'sthe  rough 
est  traveling  on  the  whole  mountain  side,  and 
Neal  always  chooses  the  best.  Ho\v  can  I  have 
made  the  blunder?  " 

There  was  nothing  in  the  surroundings  to  guide 
him.  The  ravine  was  narrow,  with  steep  sloping 


PIIII/S    LOST    TRAIL.  157 

sides,  and  permitted  of  no  outlook;  so,  after 
thinking  for  a  moment,  Phil  concluded  to  climb 
to  the  ridge  on  his  right. 

"I  think  I'll  be  able  to  see  the  boys  from 
there;  and  at  least,  I  '11  find  out  where  I  am," 
he  thought. 

When  he  reached  the  top,  he  made  a  careful 
search  in  every  direction,  but  the  boys  were  not 
to  be  seen. 

' '  Strange, ' '  he  muttered.  ' '  I  ought  to  be  able 
to  see  them,  —  even  if  I  am  off  the  track.  I 
don't  see  the  timber  along  the  East  Fork  now, 
either.  I  'm  all  mixed  up." 

Then  he  remembered  that  he  carried  a  small 
compass  in  his  pocket,  and  opening  it,  he 
watched  the  needle  until  it  settled. 

"This  is  wrorse  yet,"  he  said,  growing  still 
more  nervous.  I  ought  to  be  traveling  east  of 
south,  when,  according  to  the  needle,  I  am  going 
nearly  north." 

At  first  he  thought  the  needle  must  be  under 
some  local  influence;  but  after  testing  it  again, 
he  saw  by  its  steadiness  that  it  was  unlikely  to 
be  very  far  wrong.  Then  he  began  to  look  care 
fully  about  him  again. 

He  was  upon  a  ridge  running  in  a  north-and- 
south  direction.  Upon  his  left  was  the  ravine 
down  which  he  had  but  just  come,  and  beyond 


THE    mG-IIOKX    TREASURE. 

the  wall  of  its  higher  ridge  was  another  and  still 
higher  ridge, — beyond  which  nothing  could  be 
seen.  Upon  his  right  was  a  ravine,  deeper  than 
the  one  he  had  left ;  and  looking  over  and  beyond 
the  top  of  its  opposite  boundary,  he  could  see 
a  succession  of  three  or  four  other  ridges,  trend 
ing  in  a  similar  direction. 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  comes,  but  there  can  be 
only  one  explanation  of  it,"  he  thought.  "  When 
I  came  out  of  the  grove,  it  was  upon  a  spur  of 
the  mountain,  and  I  was  already  turned  around. 
The  spur  had  ravines  running  in  all  directions, 
and  I  took  just  the  one  I  should  n't  have  taken. 
If  I'm  going  to  reach  the  East  Fork,  I  've  got  to 
turn  to  the  ri^ht  and  cross  all  these  ravines  and 

o 

ridges,    or   else   eo    back   to   the   tableland    from 

o  o 

which  they  start. 

"  I  believe  I  '11  go  back.  The  walking  isn't 
very  bad  on  the  ridge  here,  although  it  's  all  up 
hill." 

He  turned,  and  walked  rapidly  in  the  direction 
whence  he  had  come,  and  was  thus  going  south 
ward,  as  well  as  climbing  higher. 

His  anxiety  lent  him  strength,  and  it  was  not 
very  long  before  he  approached  the  spur  of  the 
mountain  that  he  had  left  in  such  haste  after 
emerging  from  the  timber. 

Arriving    there,   he    ran   to  the   opposite   side, 


PHIL'S  LOST  TRAIL.  159 

and  at  once  saw  that  his  conclusion  had  been 
right. 

The  ravines  sloped  away  in  the  opposite,  or 
southerly,  direction,  and  away  in  the  distance 
below  he  could  see  the  line  of  trees  along  the 
East  Fork.  It  seemed  that  the  stream  made  a 
long  sweeping  bend  to  the  eastward,  around  the 
base  of  the  mountain. 

I'm  still  out  of  the  way,"  he  thought. 
"  Neal's  route  was  simply  a  short  and  straight 
cut,  and  left  this  spur  out  entirely. 

"  He  supposed  I  would  have  sense  enough  to 
see  how  it  was, —  and  so  I  ought.  I  wouldn't 
blame  them  if  they  chipped  in  and  bought  me  a 
little  do<j  down  at  Gunnison,  to  lead  me  around 

o 

with  a  string. " 

He  turned  now  to  the  right,  and  walked  west 
ward  along  the  edge  of  the  shelf. 

After  a  few  minutes'  walk  he  arrived  at  a  point 
opposite  where  the  East  Fork  turned  again  in  a 
southerly  direction,  and  concluding  now  that  he 
could  not  be  very  far  away  from  the  course  the 
boys  had  taken,  he  was  upon  the  point  of  start 
ing  southward  along  the  top  of  a  ridge  when 
he  saw  something  which  made  him  start  and 
then  crouch  down  among  the  fragments  of 
rock. 

Emerging  from    behind   the    extreme  western 


160  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

limit  of  the  aspen  grove,  and  some  distance  from 
where  he  stood,  was  a  line  of  six  men.  They 
were  walking  at  a  good  swinging  pace  in  the 
direction  of  the  East  Fork,  keeping  in  single  file, 
and  without  conversation. 

That  which,  to  Phil,  was  the  most  startling 
feature  of  the  scene  was  the  fact  that  the 
leader — who  was  a  small  man — was,  very  evi 
dently,  none  other  than  their  late  guest  and 
invalid. 

"  Unless  my  eyes  deceive  me,  this  settles  the 
last  remaining  doubt  about  him,"  Phil  thought. 
"  Sick  man,  indeed!  He  's  as  full  of  jump  as  a 
coyote.  You  '11  have  a  bad  quarter  of  an  hour 
when  Neal  gets  sight  of  you,  my  boy." 

He  lay  flat  until  the  men  had  crossed  the  open 
space,  and  vanished  from  view  clown  one  of  the 
ravines.  Then  Phil  was  seized  with  a  feeling  of 
fear. 

"  Neal  and  Ken  will  be  coming  back  to  look 
for  me,"  he  thought,  "and  are  likely  to  meet 
this  crowd.  There  will  be  trouble,  and  they  are 
only  two  men  against  six.  If  it  were  n't  for  my 
stupid  trifling,  we  should  all  be  a  long  way  ahead, 
and  reach  Gunnison  before  them. 

"  Oh  !  if  I  can  only  get  to  the  boys  now,  and  do 
my  part,  I  '11  be  willing  to  fight  the  whole 
crowd. ' 


PHIL'S  LOST  TRAIL.  163 

He  ran  to  the  place  where  the  men  disap 
peared  from  sight,  and,  looking  down  the  ravine, 
was  just  in  time  to  see  them  again  vanish  around 
a  curve, 

"  I  think  our  boys  must  be  a  little  more  to  the 
eastward,"  he  thought.  "  I  will  keep  on  along 
this  ridge,  just  far  enough  over  to  be  out  of  view, 
and  perhaps  I  may  get  sight  of  Ken  and  Neal 
before  they  run  against  these  fellows." 

But  Phil  had  failed  to  realize  the  passage  of 
time,  nor  —  as  he  had  no  watch  —  that  it  was 
now  long  past  noon. 

The  fact  was,  that  Ken  and  Neal  had  long  ago 
turned  back,  and  were  searching  for  him  through 
the  aspen  wood  and  the  ravines  leading  upward 
from  thence  to  the  point  where  they  had  left 
him. 

Phil  continued  down  along  the  ridge,  which 
grew  lower  and  more  sloping,  until  he  at  length 
approached  the  East  Fork. 

He  was  now  in  advance  of  the  party  he  had 
followed,  and  feeling  uncertain  of  what  was  best 
to  do,  he  swerved  somewhat  to  the  left,  and  hid 
himself  in  a  clump  of  bushes. 

He  had  not  long  to  wait  before  the  six  men 
filed  out  of  the  ravine,  and  without  stopping 
turned  and  went  on  down  the  bank  of  the 
stream. 


164  THE    BUI -HORN    TREASURE. 

Phil  remained  where  he  was  for  a  time,  try 
ing  to  think  out  the  situation. 

"  It  's  clear  enough,"  he  thought,  "  that  the 
boys  have  n't  met  this  gang  yet,  and  I  feel  very 
certain  they  are  now  behind  me.  They  would  n't 
go  on  beyond  this  point  without  turning  back  to 
look  for  me. 

"Now,  if  I  start  back  again  to  find  them,  I 
may  miss  them  entirely, — just  as  they  have  missed 
the  toughs.  It  seems  to  me,  the  only  thing  to 
do  is  to  wait  right  here  near  the  stream  until  the 
boys  get  back.  They  will  conclude,  after  a  while, 
that  they  have  missed  me  on  the  way,  and  that  I 
shall  be  waiting  for  them  here/' 

This,  in   fact,  was  the  way  things  terminated. 

After  waiting  a  length  of  time  which  seemed 
almost  interminable,  Phil  at  length  saw  Ken  and 
Neal  hurrying  toward  him  down  the  same  ravine 
which  brought  the  procession  of  six  an  hour  or 
more  before. 

There  were  joyful  greetings  all  around,  and 
Ken  was  almost  divided  in  mind  as  to  whether  he 
would  huer  or  thrash  the  dear  fellow. 

o 

Phil  began  at  once,  impulsively,  saying,  "You 
can't  blame  me  half  as  much  as  I  do  myself. 
I 'm  a  trifler  and  a  fool, —  but  I 'm  dreadfully 
sorry,  though.  Now,  call  me  mean  names! 


PIITI/S    LOST    TRAIL.  165 

Don't  be  backward  about  it!  I  need  it,  and  it 
will  do  me  good  ! 

"We  won't  say  anything  at  all,  Phil,"  said 
Ken.  "  I  've  had  a  great  scare,  and  I  'm  so 
happy  to  see  you  again  that  the  rest  doesn't 
matter.  Neal  feels  the  same  way,  I  'm  sure." 

"  Yes,  I  do,  Phil;   sure  thing.      I  can't  tell  you 

how  glad  I  am  to  see  you.      Why,  I  was  thinking 

just  a  few  minutes   ago,  that  I  'cl    be    even   more 

glad  to   see  you  than  to  see  that  little  duffer  that 

played  us  off  so  slick." 

Phil  and  Ken  laughed  merrily ;   then  Phil  said : 

"Well,  I  guess  it  won't   be  so  very  long  before 

you  see  him,  Neal.      He  and  the   rest   of  his  pals 

-six    of     them     altogether  —  went     past     here 

down  the  creek  only  an  hour  or   two  aq;o.      I   sat 

J  o 

in  the  bushes  and  took  in  the  whole  procession, 
from  head  to  tail. 

"  What  's  that,  Phil?  Do  you  mean  they  are 
ahead  of  us  now?"  cried  Neal  eagerly. 

"Yes,  Neal;  and  that's  what  makes  me  feel 
so  mean.  If  it  wasn't  for  me,  we  would  be 
ahead,  and  get  into  Gunnison  before  they  do." 

Neal's  excitement  was  only  indicated  by  the 
gleam  in  his  eyes  and  the  way  he  clenched  his 
hands. 

That  was  over  in  a  minute,  and  he  then  said, 
"  I  wish  we  were  in  the  lead  of  'em,  but  maybe 


1 66  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

it  won't  matter  very  much.  They'll  get  through 
to-night  and  we  won't;  but  I  think  we  can  get 
into  Gunnison  in  the  morning  by  the  time  the 
registry  office  is  open,  and  that  might  be  just  as 
good. 

"  The  thing  now  is  to  get  just  as  far  clown  the 
creek  as  we  can  before  dark.  We  've  lost  three 
or  four  hours,  and  we  '11  have  to  camp  some 
where  this  side  of  the  stage-road." 

Three  hours  later  the  party  went  into  camp  in 
a  thicket  of  willows.  A  bright  fire  was  kindled, 
their  light  lunch  soon  —  and  all  too  quickly  — 
disposed  of,  and  then  all  laid  themselves  down 
together,  their  feet  toward  the  fire,  and  their 
weary  senses  were  quickly  wrapped  in  slumber. 

At  daybreak  they  were  again  on  their  way, 
and  before  nine  o'clock  they  were  in  Gunnison. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    FILING  — NEAL    DELIVERS    AN    OPINION. 

Without  pause  or  delay,-  the  little  party  made 
it's  way  directly  to  the  register's  —  or  county 
recorder's  —  office. 

"You  seem  to  be  familiar  with  the  place, 
Neal,"  said  Ken. 

"  O,  yes.  I  know  it  very  well.  I  ain't  been 
here  for  two  years,  though." 

Arriving  at  the  door  of  the  office  they  sought, 
they  were  admitted  by  a  tall,  rather  genial-look 
ing  man,  who  had  but  just  unlocked  it. 

"Walk  in,  boys,"  he  said.  "It's  a  few 
minutes  ahead  of  office  hours,  but  we  won't  count 
it  this  time." 

He  stepped  behind  the  railing  just  as  Neal 
and  Ken  each  produced  his  certificate,  which  they 
handed  to  him. 

He  opened  one  of  them,  and  glanced  over 
it,  then,  looking  up  with  a  quick,  surprised 
air,  he  looked  squarely  into  the  faces  of  each  of 
the  three  boys  in  turn.  Then  he  cried: 

"Hello,  Neal;  old  pardner!  Is  this  the  way 
167 


l68  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

you  come  up  to  your  old  chums?  Without  say 
ing  over  a  word  ?  ' ' 

With  a  short,  puzzled  look  into  the  recorder's 
face,  Xeal  answered,  "Why,  it's  never  Archie 
Campbell  ?  " 

"Isn't  it,  though?  Well,  then,  to  the  best 
of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  it  is!  "  returned  the 
other. 

Then  both  fell  to  shaking  hands  in  the  man 
ner  that  brother  Scotchmen  know  so  well  how 
to  do. 

"  It  's  the  clean,  sleek  face,  and  the  long 
moustache  without  the  whiskers  that  fooled  me, 
Archie.  But  why  did  n't  ye  speak  to  me,  when 
it  comes  to  that?  "  said  Neal. 

"  It  must  be  my  thoughts  were  somewhere 
away,  Neal.  Ye  hav  n't  changed  any  to  speak 
of.  But,  man!  Ain't  it  the  funniest  thing?  I 
was  thinking  about  ye  only  last  night ;  and  ye 
know  I  have  n't  seen  ye  since  three  years  ago,  up 
in  the  Wind  River  country. 

"There  's  something  all-'round  curious  about 
it.  Some  fellows  blew  into  the  camp  last  night, 
and  went  around  the  streets  inquiring  for  me. 
Somebody  pointed  me  out,  and  a  little  monkey- 
faced  looking  feller  rushed  up  to  me,  puts  two 
certificates  into  my  hands,  and  said  I  must  go 
right  over  to  the  office  that  minute  and  file  'em. 


THE    FILING.  169 

"  I  convinced  him  after  a  while  that  the  best  he 
could  do  was  to  come  around  this  morning  at 
nine  o'clock.  I  glanced  over  his  papers,  and 
they  were  exact  duplicates  of  these,  only  the 
names  were  different.  Probably  I  might  n't 
have  noticed,  only  as  I  was  reading  one  I  ran 
across  your  name,  partly  scratched  out;  maybe 
the  feller's  ink  turned  darker  on  him  after  he 
thought  he  had  it  fixed.  Anyhow,  there  was 
your  name,  '  Neal  Mclnnis,'  faint,  but  quite 
plain ;  and  under  it  was  another,  I  forget 
what. 

"  I  gave  him  back  his  papers;  and  the  more  I 
thought  about  it  afterwards,  the  more  it  seemed 
to  me  there  was  something  that  wasn't  straight. 
The  duffer's  queer  actions,  the  hurry  he  was  in, 
and  then  your  name,  impressed  me  so,  that  I  was 
thinking  of  it  again  when  I  came  in  this  morn 
ing.  I  s' posed  he  and  his  crowd  would  be  here 
waiting  for  me  when  I  got  around.  I  guess 
that  's  why  I  didn't  see  you  at  first.  I  spotted 
you  quick  enough,  though,  when  I  saw  your 
name  here. " 

The  boys,  while  Campbell  had  been  relating 
this  incident,  exchanged  smiles  of  gratification 
and  meaning.  Then  Neal  cried  : 

"Thank  ye  kindly,  Archie,  for  your  good 
thoughts!  Now,  let  's  get  these  things  filed  and 


I/O  THE    IJIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

sworn  to,  and  then,  if  you  're  not  too  busy,  I  '11 
tell  ye  all  about  it." 

It  took  but  a  few  minutes  to  do  this,  and  both 
papers  were  duly  witnessed  and  attested. 

"You  can  get  your  papers  this  afternoon, 
boys,"  said  Campbell.  Then  opening  the  gate 
in  the  railing,  he  said,  "  Come  in,  all  of  ye,  and 
sit  down.  It  's  good  to  see  ye,  Neal.  I  'm  glad 
to  meet  your  friends,  Mr.  Carter  and  Mr.  Went- 
worth,  too.  What  's  the  racket,  anyway?  Got 
some  good  claims,  and  these  bums  trying  to 
jump  ye?  " 

''That's  the  idea,  Archie,"  replied  Neal, 
11  only  they  tried  to  file  ahead  of  us  first.  We 
discovered  and  located  the  vein,  and  we  're  in 
possession.  We  think  they  meant  to  swear  they 
discovered  it  and  that  we  drove  'em  off." 

"  Not  a  very  bad  play,  either!  "  cried  Camp 
bell.  "  That  is,  for  cuteness,  I  mean.  But  it 
won't  work  this  time.  The  evidence  is  too 
strong  on  your  side.  I  know  too  well  the  style 
of  man  you  are ;  and  you  and  I  have  too  many 
friends  in  this  camp,  old  man." 

The  two  old  chums  shook  hands  again  and 
laughed. 

Just  then  there  was  a  sound  of  approaching 
footsteps,  and  our  three  friends  hurriedly  turned 
their  chairs  about,  and  sat  with  their  backs 


THE    FILING.  I /I 

toward  the  door,  as  six  men  entered,  and  Mr. 
Campbell  arose  to  receive  them. 

There  was  not  a  man  among;  the  new  arrivals 
who  could  be  called  naturally  prepossessing  in 
looks,  and  matters  were  made  worse  by  the  fact 
that  they  all  were  to  some  extent  under  the  in 
fluence  of  liquor. 

Clearly,  they  had  spent  the  night  in  a  wild 
debauch,  and  had  not  recovered  wholly  from  the 
effects. 

The  leader  —  a  small  man  —  was  the  most  in 
telligent-looking  of  them  all,  but  his  small- 
featured  face,  rendered  still  more  disagreeable  by 
the  whisky-drinking,  was  a  decidedly  evil  one. 

"  Here  's  them  certificates,"  he  called  out,  in 
a  high  voice,  "and  we  want  'em  filed  right  off, 
too!  This  here's  my  claim,  an'  that's  the  ex 
tension,  owned  by  my  pard,  Joseph  Helmer. 
Here,  Joe!  Come  up  here  an'  take  care  o'  yer 
prop'ty!  What  ye  doin'  back  there?  " 

"Your  name  is  Brodie?"  asked  Mr.  Camp 
bell. 

"That  's  wrhat  it  is!  William  Brodie!  "  said 
the  small  man. 

"Well,  hold  up  your  right  hand,"  said  Mr. 
Campbell.  "  Now,  do  you  swear  that  the  state 
ments  in  this  certificate  are  true,  so  help  you 
God?" 


1/2  THK    niG-HORX    TREASURE. 

"  Yes,  sir!      I  do!  "  almost  screamed  Brodic. 

"  Very  well.      Now,  Mr.  Ilelmer!  " 

Hclmcr  held  up  his  hand  and  took  the  oath  in 
a  gruff  voice,  but  not  with  an  air  of  perfect 
assurance. 

"Now,  then,  for  your  witnesses,"  said  Mr. 
Campbell.  "  Are  these  the  men?  " 

"Yes.  Come  up  here,  Alf  and  Tom;  and 
you,  Pete  and  Gus!  " 

"We  will  take  two  of  them  for  each  claim," 
said  Mr.  Campbell. 

The  four  men  testified  and  affixed  their  clumsy 
signatures;  and  when  this  was  accomplished, 
after  much  hard  labor,  Mr.  Campbell  said,  in  a 
very  mild  and  matter-of-fact  voice: 

"  You  ought  to  have  been  'round  a  little  ear 
lier,  boys.  These  same  claims  have  been  filed 
on  this  morning,  by  some  men  who  say  they  are 
in  possession." 

"  Filed  on  this  morning,  you  say?  You  lie!  " 
yelled  Brodie. 

Campbell  turned  slightly  pale  under  the  force 
of  his  wrath,  but  he  answered  quietly: 

"If  you  were  a  complete  man,  instead  of  a 
drunken  fraction  of  one,  I  'd  adjourn  all  public 
biz  till  we  could  fix  up  that  little  remark.  As 
't  is,  you  can  go  on." 


THE    FILING.  173 

This  retort  was  lost  upon  Brodie,  however, 
who  again  shouted: 

"Who  is  the  dirty  thief  you  're  puttin'  up  a 
job  with  to  do  me  out  of  my  claim?  Where  is 
he?  Trot  him  out !  " 

"Neal!  "  called  Mr.  Campbell. 

The  start  which  Brodic  gave  at  the  sound  of  the 
name  showed  the  thinness  of  his  braggart  mask. 

Neal,  with  one  spring,  was  at  Campbell's  side, 
and  another  carried  him  over  the  railing,  where 
he  stood  confronting  Brodie,  who  looked  as 
though  he  might  collapse. 

"  Just  how  and  when  was  it"-  -Neal  's  voice, 
as  he  spoke,  had  a  hard  metallic  ring  which  none 
of  the  boys  had  ever  heard  in  it  before —  "  you 
came  to  be  owner  of  this  claim  that  somebody  's 
trying  to  do  you  out  of?  Was  it  clay  before  yes 
terday  morning,  when  you  stole  and  ran  off  with 
the  certificates  that  belonged  to  the  fellows  who 
had  been  trying  to  do  the  '  Good  Samaritan  '  act 
for  you  ?  ' ' 

By  this  time  Phil  and  Ken  were  close  behind 
Neal,  from  whom  they  fully  expected  to  see 
some  act  of  violence,  knowing  of  his  pent-up 
anger  during  the  past  two  days. 

In  fact,  Neal's  appearance  might  well  have 
excited  fear  in  a  man  with  a  cleaner  record  than 
Brodie 's. 


174  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

The  stalwart,  blonde-moustached  Scotchman 
with  blazing  eyes,  who  towered  above  the  shrink 
ing  figure,  clearly  had  enough  courage,  if  not  the 
actual  physical  strength,  to  conduct  a  battle  with 
the  full  half-dozen. 

Ken  touched  Neal 's  arm,  saying,  "Don't 
hurt  him,  Neal.  We  are  ahead,  and  he  isn't 
worth  the  trouble." 

But  Neal's  self-control  was  greater  than  the 
boys  feared. 

He  said,  quietly,  but  with  the  same  quality  of 
voice  as  before,  "  No  fear,  Ken.  This  ain't  the 
place  for  a  disturbance.  I  'm  kind  of  sorry,  too, 
for  the  little  ape  needs  a  spankin',  but  I  guess  I 
must  let  him  off  with  a  '  suspended  sentence, '  as 
the  judge  says. 

"Now,  beauty,"  he  said  to  Brodie, — from 
whom  he  had  not  removed  his  eyes,  —  "we're 
ahead  of  you  in  your  own  '  brace  '  game.  Our 
locations  are  ahead  of  yours,  and  are  all  neat 
and  tidy.  Everything  with  us  is  straight  and 
truthful,  while  there  ain't  a  man  in  this  room 
who  don't  know  that  you  and  all  the  rest  of  your 
sweet  cherubs  are  liable  to  be  sent  up  for  perjury. 
There  's  a  hole  in  the  wall  right  there  behind 
you.  If  you  '11  all  throw  yourselves  out  of  it, 
and  do  it  nice  and  quiet,  I  'm  sure  you  '11  oblige 


THE    FILING.  1/7 

our  friend  Mr.  Campbell,  and  the  rest  of  us," 
and  he  pointed  to  the  door. 

There  were  dark  looks  and  a  display  of  ugly 
tempers  among  Brodie's  crew  while  Neal  had 
been  speaking,  and  it  is  uncertain  how  they  might 
have  behaved,  but  just  then  Campbell  spoke, 
saying: 

"  There  's  our  sheriff,  Bob  Harvey,  at  the  door, 
so  I  guess  you  better  hurry  along." 

At  this  the  whole  party  moved    quickly  away. 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  Brodie,"  cried  Neal  as  that 
furious  and  baffled  person  was  moving  after, 
"  Our  hospital  is  closed  up  and  we  've  turned  it 
into  a  tannery.  Don't  compel  us  to  hang  your 
hide  on  the  bushes!" 

Brodie  turned  and  gave  Neal  a  look  as  malig 
nant  as  that  of  a  rattlesnake,  and  one  of  his  dark- 
faced  crew  sang  out : 

<k  Mind,  we  '11  fix  you." 

The  sheriff  had  now  entered,  and  he  and 
Campbell  laughed  heartily  at  Neal's  energetic 
language. 

Neal  turned  to  Ken,  remarking:  "  I  've  heard 
that  voice  before.  I  wonder  where." 

"  What's  the  rumpus  about,  Archie?"  asked 
the  sheriff. 

Campbell  then  introduced  him  to  Neal  and  the 
two  boys,  saying: 


1/8  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

kt  Bob,  this  man  Neal  Mclnnis  is  an  old  chum 
of  mine,  and  one  of  the  squarest  and  most  re 
liable  men  in  all  the  Rocky  Mountains.  His 
two  friends  are  my  friends,  and  I  wish  you  'd 
make  a  note  of  this  thing  for  future  use.  It  might 
be  needed. " 

Then  he  told  him  briefly  the  whole   situation. 

Harvey  was  a  fine,  resolute-looking  man,  and 
when  he  turned  to  our  three  friends,  saying, 
;t  I  '11  see  that  these  fellows  are  well  watched  and 
kept  out  of  mischief  while  they  are  in  camp," 
Phil  and  Ken  felt  assured  that  he  not  only  meant 
what  he  said,  but  that  he  could  be  relied  upon. 

Neal  now  remarked,  "  Boys,  we've  bothered 
Archie  here  for  quite  a  while.  I  guess  we  bet 
ter  move  along  and  give  him  a  chance  to  do  some 
business,  and  we  will  hunt  up  a  place  where  we 
can  get  a  square  meal.  We  '11  come  in  for  the 
certificates  this  afternoon,  Archie." 

As  they  went  together  clown  the  street,  Ken 
said,  "  It  has  all  gone  off  in  good  style,  has  n't 
it?  I  'm  glad  we  didn't  have  any  trouble  with 
those  ruffians.  They  are  a  bad  lot,  and  had 
enough  liquor  to  make  them  reckless.  I  would  n't 
feel  sure  yet  of  our  keeping  clear  of  a  fight  if 
the  sheriff  hadn't  agreed  to  look  after  them." 

"Yes,"  said  Neal.  "I  don't  want  to  have 
any  fight;  and  now  that  I  've  relieved  my  mind 


THE    FILING.  1/9 

to  'cm  a  little,  I  shall  dodge  a  row  if  I  possibly 
can.  We  need  n't  fear  they  '11  give  us  any 
trouble,  I  think." 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  's  any  likelihood,  Neal, 
that  they  would  lie  in  waiting  for  us  along  the 
trail  as  we  go  back?  "  asked  Phil. 

Neal  laughed,  saying,  "  Not  a  bit.  One  good 
reason,  is,  they  '11  all  be  dead  drunk  before  night, 
and  we  '11  be  out  of  camp  before  daybreak  to 
morrow.  They  've  started  in  right  for  a  '  blow 
out  '  that  's  likely  to  last  them  a  week." 

At  breakfast  the  question  of  buying  provisions 
was  raised  by  Ken.  All  were  of  the  opinion  that 
the  present  opportunity  to  lay  in  a  large  stock  of 
supplies  was  one  not  to  be  neglected ;  so  the 
matter  was  quickly  settled,  and  Phil  and  Ken 
began  to  make  out  lists  of  the  goods  which  were 
needed.  In  this  matter  they  were  almost 
wholly  guided  by  Neal's  suggestions. 

Among  the  commodities  set  clown  were,  (be 
sides  eatables),  woolen  underwear,  stockings,  and 
heavy  shoes  with  hob-nails,  a  full  supply  of  min 
ing-tools,  giant-powder  (or  dynamite),  black- 
smithing  tools  and  apparatus,  rifle-cartridges,  and 
a  large  and  complete  cooking-stove  with  all  its 
belongings.  This  was  to  be  carried  in  sections. 

When  everything  that  could  immediately  be 
thought  of  had  been  jotted  down,  Neal  said, 


i8o  THE  UK; -HORN  TREASURE. 

"This  will  do  until  we  come  to  do  the  buying. 
Then  we  '11  think  of  lots  of  other  things,  most 
likely. 

"The  first  thing  to  do  now  is  to  look  up  a 
man  who  has  jack-trains  to  hire,  or  wants  to  take 
a  contract  to  pack  all  the  stuff.  I  used  to  know 
some  fellows  here  in  that  line.  If  we  can  find 
the  right  sort  of  a  man,  I  think  the  best  scheme 
will  be  to  make  a  contract  with  him.  How 
many  jacks  do  you  s'pose  it  '11  take  to  pack  this 
list  of  stuff  up  to  our  camp?  What  do  you  say, 
Phil?" 

"  O,  I  think  it  will  take  quite  a  lot  of  them; 
perhaps  twenty,"  said  Phil. 

"  How  many  do  you  think,  Ken?  " 

"Not  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty,  "said 
Ken. 

"  If  he  uses  burros,"  said  Neal,  "  it  will  take 
at  least  forty,  and  maybe  fifty.  But  if  he  has 
mules — and  he  will  use  them  if  he  has, —  it 
won't  need  so  many.  Perhaps  thirty,  but  prob 
ably  more.  Well,  let  's  be  moving.  We  '11  have 
to  skirmish  pretty  lively  all  day." 

Before  night  everything  was  arranged. 

The  goods  were  purchased  and  paid  for  by 
draft  on  Ken's  bank  in  Denver;  were  to  be  put 
up  in  bales  and  boxes  suitable  for  packing,  and 
to  be  in  readiness  for  the  packers  within  three 


THE    FILING.  151 

days,    when  the  start  was  to  be  made,  with  four 
reliable  men  to  take  the  train  through. 

Neal  crave  careful   instructions,  and   also  made 

o 

a  diagram  of  the  route. 

"That's  well  settled,  "he  said.  "Now  we 
will  go  around  to  get  our  certificates,  and  say 
1  Good-by  '  to  Archie  Campbell.  I  guess  we  '11 
all  feel  like  turning  in  early  to-night,  and  we 
want  to  get  a  good  sleep,  as  we  're  to  take  the 
trail  before  daylight." 

They  saw  nothing  of  their  "  rival  claimants" 
during  the  day;  but  once,  while  passing  a  saloon, 
they  heard  loud  and  bibulous  voices,  among 
which  they  recognized  that  of  Mr.  Brodie. 

J  o 

As  they  were  about  retiring,  Phil  said,  rather 
pensively,  l '  I  wonder  how  Dave  is  getting  along. 

"I  was  just  thinking  the  same  thing,"  said 
Neal.  ''  It  's  a  sort  of  wild  place  up  there  for  a 
boy  to  be  alone.  And  yet  I  only  think  of  it 
that  way  because  he  's  young.  I  've  been  alone 
myself  in  such  places  many  times.  Dave  's  got 
the  best  judgment  of  any  youngster  I  ever  knew. 
He  's  careful,  there  ain't  anything  that  would 
ever  make  him  nervous  or  scare  him,  and  be 
sides,  he  '11  be  right  around  camp  all  the  time. 

"  He  's  a  man,  every  inch  of  him,  and  he  '11 
be  all  right.  I  '11  bet  he  's  kind  of  lonesome,  and 
will  be  glad  to  see  us  heave  in  sight,  though." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  HOUSE  THAT    DAVE  BUILT— THE  PACK-RAT. 

After  his  three  friends  had  left  camp  and  van 
ished  down  the  trail,  Dave  set  about  putting  the 
camp  in  good  order. 

This  was  all  done  by  the  time  that  the  first 
gilded  and  glistening  rays  of  the  sun  were  begin 
ning  to  dart  from  behind  the  rugged  peaks  to  the 
eastward. 

"I  '11  go  now,  and  look  over  the  ground  that 
Neal  and  I  selected  for  our  new  house,"  he  said. 

The  plan  as  agreed  upon  had  been  to  have  a 
rather  long  and  commodious  cabin,  so  placed  that 
the  line  between  the  two  claims  would  pass 
through  the  center  of  it,  and  by  having  a  parti 
tion  so  divide  it  that  there  would  be,  in  effect,  a 
double  house;  one  half  of  which  would  be  upon 
Ken's  and  the  other  half  upon  Ncal's  claim. 

The  ground  was  clear  and  level,  not  far  from 
the  lake,  and  upon  the  edge  of  the  rim  of  aspen 
trees  which  skirted  the  shore  on  that  side. 

He  walked  around  the  spot  studying  the  loca 
tion  and  character  of  the  ground ;  then  went  and 
182 


THE    HOUSE    THAT    DAVE    BUILT.  183 

got  the  tape-line  and  measured  it  for  the  position 
and  dimensions. 

"  It  will  have  to  be  at  least  sixteen  feet  wide 
by  forty  feet  long,"  he  said. 

Then  he  went  over  to  where  the  trees  grew  the 
thickest,  and  of  largest  size,  and  made  a  rough 
estimate  of  how  many  would  be  required  for  the 
structure. 

<k  I  think  we  will  use  the  aspens/'  he  said. 
"They  arc  more  convenient,  and  a  trifle  larger 
than  the  pines,  besides  being  the  easier  wood  to 
handle  and  shape." 

Then  he  took  an  ax  from  the  camp  and  went 
vigorously  to  work,  chopping  down  the  largest 
and  straightest  ones. 

"  If  the  boys  are  away  no  longer  than  three 
days,  I  won't  exactly  have  a  finished  house  for 
them  when  they  get  back, —  not  by  a  long  way, 
—  but  I  can  get  things  started  so  that  it  won't 
take  very  long  for  all  hands  together  to  finish  it 
up,"  he  thought. 

He  worked  with  a  will;  so  that  before  noon  he 
had  a  large  number  of  the  straight  trunks 
stripped  of  their  limbs,  and  cut  off  at  the  de 
sired  lengths. 

"  I  '11  get  a  bite  of  something  to  eat,  and  after 
lunch  I  '11  see  what  Teddy  and  Pete  are  good  for 
at  hauling,"  he  said.  "  I  imagine  Sancho  would 


I  84  THE    BUI- HORN    TREASURE. 

have  the  most  sense,  but  it  won't  do  to  work  him 
for  a  few  days  yet." 

Dave's  lunch  was  very  simple,  and  quickly 
over,  and  he  then  went  out  into  the  bushes  and 
caught  the  two  donkeys  and  led  them  to  camp. 

He  put  on  their  pack-saddles  and  roped  and 
"cinched  "  them  carefully. 

His  first  thought  had  been  that  it  would  be 
possible  to  work  the  animals  double,  and  thus 
make  them  haul  a  fairly  heavy  load ;  but  after 
hitching  them  together  in  every  manner  he  could 
think  of,  he  found  it  impossible  to  make  them 
pull  in  such  a  way  as  to  accomplish  anything,  so 
that  he  fell  to  using  one  donkey  at  a  time ;  fast 
ening  the  smaller  end  of  the  log  by  a  rope  to  the 
pack-saddle,  and  urging  the  burro  to  drag  it,  by 
easy  stages.  It  required  a  little  time  and  pa 
tience  to  break  the  little  fellows  in  to  this  kind 
of  work, — which  they  must  have  thought  alto 
gether  nonsensical, —  and  a  quick-tempered  man 
would  have  had  but  poor  success  in  getting  them 
to  do  it  at  all. 

But,  by  changing  donkeys  every  little  while, 
and  taking  one  log  at  a  time,  he  made  such  pro 
gress  that  in  two  hours  he  had  his  entire  cut 
hauled  to  the  site  of  the  cabin. 

"Well,  I've  solved  the  problem,  anyhow," 
he  said.  "  Now,  it  's  simply  a  question  of  keep- 


THE    HOUSE    THAT    DAVE    BUILT.  185 

ing  the  good  work  booming  along,  and  time  will 
do  the  rest." 

He  turned  the  burros  loose,  and  again  went  to 
chopping,  and  by  night  had  felled  and  trimmed 
what  he  believed  would  be  enough  to  complete 
the  house. 

"  I  '11  get  them  all  hauled  by  noon  to-morrows 
and  then  I  '11  be  ready  to  go  to  notching  and 
putting  together,"  he  said. 

Throughout  the  whole  clay  he  had  been  so  in 
terested  in  his  task,  that,  what  with  planning 
and  talking  to  the  burros,  he  had  escaped  all 
sense  of  loneliness. 

But  after  he  had  eaten  supper  and  put  the 
camp  to  rights,  he  sat  do\vn  in  his  usual  resting- 
place,  between  the  tent  and  the  fire,  and  very 
quickly  the  sense  of  being  all  alone  crept  over  him. 

"  If  I  had  even  a  little  dog  it  would  be  a 
help,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  as  he  glanced 
across  at  the  solid  wall  of  black  beyond  the 
reach  of  his  fire-glow. 

"I  wonder  how  the  boys  have  been  getting 
along.  If  they  've  been  able  to  do  all  that  Neal 
anticipated,  they  must  be  in  Gunnison  by  this 
time,  and  will  be  starting  back  day  after  to-mor 
row  morning.  I  'm  not  going  to  look  for  them, 
very  much,  because  I  don't  believe  it  's  possible 
for  them  to  get  through  in  so  short  time. 


I  86  THE  1UG- HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Still,  they  '11  find  me  ready  to  welcome  them 
if  they  do  drop  in.  I  don't  think  I  'd  make  a 
very  good  hermit.  Well,  I  suppose  the  best 
way  to  dispose  of  this  sort  of  thing  is  to  go  to 
sleep." 

He  sat  a  little  while  longer,  trying  to  turn  his 
thoughts  to  the  work  of  the  next  morning,  and 
was,  at  length,  upon  the  point  of  rising  to  fix 
his  fire  for  the  night,  when  there  came  up  to  his 
ears,  from  the  valley  beneath,  a  long,  dismal 
howl,  indescribably  fierce  and  terrifying. 

This  was  followed  by  another,  and  presently 
there  was  a  continued  chorus  of  the  same 
sounds. 

"  Ugh!  It  's  like  the  laughing  of  a  band  of 
maniacs,"  and  he  shivered  slightly.  "I  don't 
know  of  any  sound  that  seems  so  relentless  and 
cruel  as  the  blood-cry  of  a  pack  of  wolves  after 
a  deer.  It  must  be  a  black-tail,  and  I  'm  afraid 
they  're  pretty  sure  to  get  him.  They  seem  to 
be  going  down  the  canon,  and  the  farther  away 
they  get,  the  better  it  will  suit  me. 

"Well,  there  have  been  no  signs  of  any  of 
those  fellows  up  here  on  the  shelf,  and  I  feel 
rather  glad  of  it  to-night." 

He  now  proceeded  to  roll  his  logs  together  for 
the  all-merit  fire,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  he 

o 

was  lying  comfortably  between  the  blankets. 


IHEKE  CAME  I.T  I-ROM  THH  VALI.KV  I-.FNEA'IH  A  I.ONC,.   IIISMAI 


THE    HOUSE    THAT    DAVE    BUILT.  189 

Youth,  health,  and  a  hard  day's  work  com 
bined  make  an  excellent  soporific,  so  that  Dave 
was  almost  instantly  in  the  land  where  loneliness 
is  unknown. 

How  long  he  had  slept  he  could  not  tell,  when 
something  seemed  suddenly  to  bounce  into  his 
unshorn  and  rather  thick  hair,  and  after  scratch 
ing  vigorously  at  his  head  for  an  instant,  was 
gone. 

This,  of  course,  caused  him  to  spring  bolt 
upright,  although  quite  dazed,  and  not  at  all 
knowing  just  what  had  awakened  him. 

The  fire-light  was  shining  into  the  tent,  but  he 
could  see  nothing,  and  his  sleepiness  was  so  great 
that  he  muttered,  "  I  must  have  dreamed,"  and 
settled  himself  back  to  sleep. 

He  again  had  gotten  well  into  dreamland 
when  the  same  thing  recurred,  but  with  such  an 
air  of  playful  mischief  that,  catching  the  faint 
sound  of  something  scurrying  away,  Dave — 
now  more  thoroughly  awake  than  before,  and  at 
first  quite  startled  —  was  for  a  moment  angry, 
and  then  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh. 

"It's  a  mountain  rat,"  he  exclaimed.  "I 
thought  the  wolves  had  got  me.  I  s'pose  the 
villain  is  lonesome,  and  thought  that  was  the  best 
way  to  attract  my  notice." 

In  a  minute  more  there  came  such  a  rattling  of 


190  THE  BIG-HORN  TREASURE. 

tin  dishes  and  spoons  as  would  seem  to  have  re 
quired  the  efforts  of  half  a  dozen  cooks.  Then 
came  a  slight  pause,  after  which  the  sound  was 
resumed  with  variations. 

Dave  was  lying  clown  now;  but,  although 
thoroughly  awake,  he  made  no  motion  toward 
getting  up. 

"  Bang  away,  old  man!  "  he  said.  "  It  won't 
do  me  any  good  to  chase  you  off,  for  you'll  come 
back  again.  I  'm  really  not  very  sorry  to  have 
you  around,  either.  Seems  kind  of  sociable.  If 
only  you  don't  carry  off  all  our  spoons  and 
knives  before  morning,  there  won't  be  any  war 
between  us. " 

He  lay  listening  for  a  little  while  longer,  then 
fell  asleep,  and  this  time  he  was  not  awakened 
until  daybreak. 

Before  the  forenoon  was  half  gone,  Dave  had 
his  logs  all  upon  the  ground. 

Then  he  laid  out  his  foundation  by  digging  a 
slight  trench  all  around,  in  which  to  lay  his  bot 
tom  logs. 

After  first  putting  notches  in  them  near  the 
ends,  he  rolled  them  into  the  trench  and  fitted 
them  tightly  together.  This  done,  he  took  the 
ax  and  hewed  them  slightly  flat  all  around  upon 
the  upper  side,  and  the  first  course  was  com 
pleted. 


THE    HOUSE    THAT    DAVE    BUIET.  1 91 

This  was  a  good  start,  and  thereafter  the  work 
progressed  so  well  that  when  night  came  he  had 
rolled  the  last  of  his  logs  into  place. 

(l  There!  "  he  said,  as  he  walked  around  and 
surveyed  his  work. 

"  I  've   got    a   solid   five-foot   wall  all   around, 

o 

anyhow.  I  've  made  a  bad  miscalculation,  though, 
on  the  number  of  logs  it  needs,  for  I  'm  not  any 
where  near  through.  I  feel  pretty  sure  Neal 
won't  be  able  to  find  any  fault  with  the  job,  thus 
far;  but  I  'm  climbing  up  toward  where  I  'm  likely 
to  get  into  trouble. 

"  I  believe  I  '11  leave -the  work  right  where  it 
is,  and  let  Neal  superintend  the  topping  out,  and 
fixing  of  the  peak  and  roof.  I  'm  in  doubt  about 
it,  and  he's  familiar  with  the  whole  thing.  The 
boys  may,  possibly,  be  here  to-morrow  night ;  and 
whether  they  are  or  not,  I  '11  be  able  to  find  a  job 
to  fill  in  my  time  with  for  a  day  or  twTo." 

Dave's  new  friend,  the  rat,  made  its  appear 
ance  earlier  that  evening. 

Dave  was  at  the  table  eating  supper,  and  it 
was  yet  light,  when  a  little  ashen-gray  animal 
leaped  upon  a  box  at  a  little  distance  from  him, 
and  sat  upright,  blinking  at  him  with  its  beady 
eyes. 

It  had  a  tail  which  curved  over  its  back  some 
what  like  a  squirrel's,  and  was  decidedly  bushy, 


1Q2  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

but  the  hairs  were  sparse  and  thin.  In  other 
respects  it  was  a  rat  in  appearance,  and  was  in 
fact  the  ''pack-rat'  (Neotoma  cinered)  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

It  is  called  the  "  pack •  rat  "  because  of  its  • 
disposition  to  carry  away  all  sorts  of  articles  and 
utensils  of  which  it  cannot  possibly  make  any 
use,  and  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  its  curi 
osity  and  traits  of  pure  mischief,  is  radically  dif 
ferent  from  all  its  brothers  and  cousins. 

As  Dave  remained  quiet,  the  animal  began 
hopping  about,  and  in  doing  so  struck  together  a 
tin  cup  and  plate  which  were  lying  upon  the  box. 

The  rat  bent  its  head  and  looked  at  them 
curiously,  then  with  his  foot  struck  the  cup  so 
that  it  again  rang  against  the  plate. 

Then  it  stooped,  and  seizing  the  plate  in  both 
its  paws,  raised  it  slightly  above  the  cup  and  let 
it  drop.  Sitting  back  erect,  it  cocked  its  head 
to  one  side  and  listened  to  its  ring,  with  either  a 
critical  or  pleased  ear.  Evidently,  though,  it 
was  the  latter,  for  it  repeated  the  operation  again 
and  again. 

This  practice  so  amused  Dave,  that  he  burst 
into  a  laugh,  whereupon  it  darted  into  the  bushes 
like  a  flash. 

"  I  've  heard  of  the  rat  doing  that  very  thing, 
but  I  didn't  believe  it, "he  said.  "  I  knew 


THE    HOUSE    THAT    DAVE    HUILT.  193 

about  lots  of  their  other  tricks,  though.  I  guess 
I  '11  put  the  lighter  utensils  underneath  the  heavier 
ones  to-night.  He  's  pleasant  company,  but  we 
need  our  forks  and  cups." 

Once,  in  the  night,  Dave  was  dimly  conscious 
of  a  hairy  something  brushing  past  his  face;  but 
he  only  smiled,  and  sank  back  to  sleep  again. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HUNTING     THE     RIG-HORN. 

Perhaps  it  was  because  he  had  no  weighty  duty 
upon  his  mind,  that  Dave  slept  later  than  usual 
the  next  morning. 

The  sun  was  up,  and  its  rays  had  begun  to 
stream  into  the  tent  when  he  opened  his  eyes. 
He  sprang  up  quickly,  saying,  "  It  won't  do  to 
grow  lazy  just  because  the  boys  are  away! 

He  prepared  his  breakfast,  and  had  finished 
eating  before  he  decided  how  he  would  put  in 
the  day. 

After  leaving  the  table,  he  took  a  pail  and 
went  to  the  lake  for  water.  Reaching  the  smooth 
flat  rock  upon  which  he  was  accustomed  to  stand 
and  dip  in  his  pail,  his  eye  was  arrested  by  the 
clean-cut  and  perfect  reflection  of  the  overhang 
ing  mountain  within  its  glassy  depths.  Every 
detail  of  rock  and  fissure  and  shrub  seemed  to  be 
portrayed. 

While  he  stood  admiring   the   beautiful   scene, 
something  in   the  reflection   seemed  to   stir,  as  if 
detached  from  the  face  of   the  cliff. 
194 


HUNTING    THE    BIG-HORN.  195 

Turning  his  eyes  upward,  he  perceived  a  band 
of  about  half  a  dozen  big-horns,  on  a  ledge  of 
rock  high  above,  and  seemingly  overhanging  the 
lake.  Instantly  Dave's  mind  was  made  up  as  to 
what  he  would  do. 

"  I  call  this  too  fine  an  opportunity  for  mut 
ton,  to  be  thrown  away!  "  he  exclaimed.  "They 
are  on  the  west  side  of  the  waterfall,  though, 
and  if  I  get  a  good  shot,  I  will  have  to  take  our 
visitor's  trail  and  go  around  to  the  other  side." 

He  returned  with  the  water,  took  his  rifle  and 
carefully  examined  it  to  see  whether  the  maga 
zine  were  filled,  and  returned  to  the  shore. 

Following  the  beach  around  to  the  outlet,  and 
thence  down  stream  through  the  woods  to  the 
dead-tree  bridge,  he  crossed  over,  and  made 
his  way  toward  the  rocky  ridge  Neal  had  de 
scribed. 

Before  he  had  covered  the  entire  distance,  he 
saw  that  he  was  likely  to  be  thrown  entirely  out 
of  range.  It  was  too  nearly  underneath  the 
band  of  sheep;  and,  moreover,  there  appeared  to 
be  a  jutting  crag  of  the  mountain,  heretofore 
unobserved,  which  would  quite  obscure  them 
from  this  direction. 

He  concluded  to  advance,  though,  until  he 
could  learn  the  exact  conditions  of  the  moun 
tain  side,  inasmuch  as  there  appeared  to  be  small 


196  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

hope  of    eettine    within   shooting-distance   from 

loo  o 

any  other  point. 

Arriving  at  the  extreme  corner  of  the  plateau, 
he  paused  upon  the  brink  of  the  almost  sheer 
descent,  and  where  the  upper  half  of  the  moun 
tain  rose  above  him,  smiling  at  the  effectiveness 
of  Neal's  work. 

"  There  is  n't  much  chance  now  of  any  one's 
getting  up  here  from  below,"  he  said.  "Neal 
has  smoothed  the  wall  down  as  though  it  were 
chiseled." 

He  stood  for  a  few  moments,  looking  far  be 
low  into  the  basin,  from  which  the  mists  of  the 
morning  were  not  wholly  gone.  Then  he  glanced 
along  the  great  wall,  northward,  to  where  the 
range  was  notched  into  more  separate  and  indi 
vidual  mountains. 

"  Our  sick  man  must  have  gone  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Castle  Peak,  "was  his  thought.  "As 
far  as  I  am  able  to  follow  the  line  of  his  trail,  it 
keeps  pretty  well  up,  instead  of  dropping  into 
the  basin." 

Then  he  turned  about,  and  following  along  the 
cliff,  climbed  over  the  rocky  ridge  and  stood  at 
the  edge  of  the  lake.  Moving  backward  a  short 
distance  from  the  cliff,  he  scanned  that  portion 
of  the  side  which  was  adjacent  to  him. 

"There  seems  to  be  a  ledge  that  starts  from 


HUNTING    THE    P.TG  -  HORN.  197 

this  spur  and  inclines  upward  toward  the  left," 
he  cogitated.  ''There  's  a  chance  that  it  may 
take  me  up  to  a  point  where  I  can  get  a  good 
shot,  and  I  '11  try  it." 

He  stalled,  and  worked  his  way  along  the  nar 
row  bench  with  but  little  difficulty.  It  slanted 
decidedly  upward,  and  after  proceeding  for  some 
distance,  he  glanced  below  and  saw  that  he  was 
directly  above  the  lake. 

"  What  a  plunge-bath  a  fellow  could  get  from 
here, "  he  said. 

Working  his  way  still  along  and  upward,  he 
came,  in  a  short  time  to  a  vertical  dyke  that  com 
pletely  barred  his  way. 

"  This  is  a  huge  disappointment!  I  wonder  if 
there's  no  other  way  out?"  he  said  aloud. 
"  There  's  no  way  above,  but  if  I  could  manage 
to  creep  down  to  that  ledge  belowr  me,  it  looks 
as  though  it  \vould  carry  me  along  upward  in  the 
same  course  as  this  one." 

He  retraced  his  steps  for  some  distance,  but 
could  find  no  place  where  it  seemed  possible  to 
descend. 

"  If  I  had  a  rope,  I  might  do  it,"  he  thought. 
Then,  "  I  '11  go  and  get  one!  "  he  cried.  "  If 
the  sheep  will  only  stay  where  they  are  for 
a  while,  I  may  give  them  a  stirring  up  yet." 

He    laid    his    rifle  carefully  down,  so  that    he 


198  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

could  move  more  quickly,  and  scrambled  back- 
over  the  way  he  had  come.  Reaching  the  ridge, 
he  leaped  lightly  down  and  ran  rapidly  around 
toward  the  camp. 

After  crossing  the  stream  and  gaining  the  shore 
again,  he  paused  to  see  if  the  sheep  were  still  in 
sight,  and  saw  that  they  were  somewhat  lower 
down  than  before,  but  farther  over  toward  the 
left. 

"  That  's  all  the  better  for  me,"  he  said;  and 
ran  onward  to  the  camp.  Quickly  selecting  a 
stout  rope  and  also  a  leather  sling  for  his  rifle,  he 
returned  as  rapidly  as  he  could. 

This,  of  course,  consumed  some  little  time, 
but  Dave  felt  no  great  fear  that  the  animals 
would  depart,  unless,  of  course,  they  should 
take  alarm  at  his  nearer  approach. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  ledge,  he  searched  all 
along  until  he  found  a  crevice  into  which  he 
could  slip  his  rope.  Then  knotting  the  end  se 
curely  around  a  stout  stick  he  had  picked  up,— 
to  serve  as  an  anchor, —  he  adjusted  and  then 
tested  it. 

The  next  thing  was  to  take  his  rifle,  and,  using 
the  strap  he  had  brought  to  sling  it  to  his  back,  he 
seized  the  rope  and  swung  himself  over  the  edge. 

The  distance  was  about  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet,  and  as  he  could  steady  himself  with  his 


HUNTING  THE  IUG-HOKN.  1 99 

toes  against  the  wall,  he  slid  down  with  the 
greatest  ease. 

"  That  was  simple,"  he  said.  "  I  can  go  up 
almost  as  easily  when  I  come  back.' 

Leaving  the  rope,  he  began  to  work  his  way 
along,  keeping  the  mountain  on  his  right,  as 

before. 

After  he  had  advanced  for  upwards  of  a  hun 
dred  feet,  he  looked  back,  and  saw  that  he  had 
risen  to  a  higher  point  than  the  spot  where  he 
left  the  other  ledge.  Then  glancing  above,  he 

said  : 

''This  is  where  we  can  see  the  metamorphic 
rocks  and  the  stratification  that  Neal  tells  about. 
Up  there,  at  just  about  the  same  corresponding 
distance  above  this  bench  I  am  standing  on,  is 
the  same  ledge  I  started  along  in  the  first  place. 

"  It  's  clear  that  they  're  both  seams  of  shale 
lying  parallel  to  each  other,  and  were  formed,  one 
above  the  other,  by  gradual  deposit  at  the  bot 
tom  of  some  great  lake  or  stream.  The  change  - 
or  metamorphosis  — came  about  long  afterwards, 
through  enormous  pressure  or  heat.  Coming  in 
so  near  together  as  they  do,  this  ought  —  accord 
ing  to  Neal's  theory  —  to  be  a  place  to  look  for 
good  results  in  a  quartz  vein,  if  one  could  be 

found." 

Of  course,  these  soliloquies  of  Dave's  were  not 


200  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

all  aloud;  and,  just  now,  he  was  proceeding  with 
caution,  on  account  of  the  big-horns. 

For  some  time  he  was  unable  to  see  them  at 
all;  but  after  he  had  clambered  along  and  up 
ward  until  he  seemed  at  a  great  height  above  the 
lake,  he  heard  the  rattling  sound  of  a  falling 
stone,  and  peering  cautiously  upward,  he  saw 
the  band  in  plain  view. 

Then  he  pressed  himself  as  close  to  the  wall  as 
he  could,  and  removed  his  hat,  so  as  not  to 
attract  attention. 

He  could  now  have  shot  one  with  ease;  but  he 
concluded  that  only  the  largest  —  a  ram  —  would 
satisfy  his  ambition;  so  he  quietly  waited. 

Dave  could  not  be  called  a  natural  sportsman, 
except  in  a  comparative  sense.  He  loved  the 
adventure  and  excitement  of  the  chase;  and. 
being  naturally  persistent,  he  dearly  loved  to 
succeed  in  whatever  he  undertook,  but  he  cared 
little  about  killing  game  for  its  own  sake. 

As  he  crouched  against  the  wall  now,  he 
thought : 

11  It  's  almost  too  bad  to  shoot  such  noble 
fellows  as  they.  I  believe  I  admire  them  more 
than  any  wild  animal  I  have  ever  seen." 

And  their  appearance  was  indeed,  in  all  re 
spects,  noble. 

There  is,  to    begin  with,  something   poetic  — 


HUNTING    THE    IJIG-IIORN.  2OI 

almost  heroic  —  about  the  manner  of  life,  and  the 
haunts,  of  the  mountain  sheep. 

Keeping  within  the  high  altitudes  and  almost 
inaccessible  parts  of  the  rugged  mountains,  he  is 
fairly  able  to  defy  any  creature — including  man 
—  which  would  be  his  natural  enemy. 

His  feeding  and  resting  places  seem,  from 
innate  choice,  to  be  the  sunny  sides  of  steep 
declivities,  where  there  are  occasional  narrow 
ledges  or  shelves,  which,  for  any  other  four- 
footed  beast,  would  be  utterly  out  of  reach. 

This  security  is,  in  fact,  largely  true  against 
man  himself;  as  the  Oris  Montana  is  able  to 
traverse,  with  perfect  safety  and  speed,  heights 
so  dizzy  and  rocky  fronts  so  bold  as  to  make 
brave  men  shrink,  and  cause  them  to  regard  him 
with  admiring  wonder. 

Dave  could  see  the  herd  in  fullest  detail  from 
the  spot  where  he  lay  hidden. 

Their  strong,  symmetrical  legs,  and  the  waving 
flow  of  the  tense  but  obedient  muscles  ;  the  proud, 
finely  proportioned  necks;  the  spiral,  sweeping 
curves  of  the  great  horns;  and,  above  all,  the 
matchless,  independent  grace  of  their  whole 
poise  upon  the  narrow,  jutting  surface  of  the 
rocks, —  all,  taken  together,  made  a  picture  which 
Dave  could  have  spent  hours  in  watching. 

"  I  've  always  said  they  're   the   finest  animals 


202  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

that  walk,"  he  whispered.  "  I  believe  I  never 
can  enjoy  killing  another  one;  and  I  'm  almost 
sorry  I  came  out." 

Just  then,  however,  there  seemed  to  be  a  gen 
eral  movement  of  the  herd.  There  was  no  ap 
pearance  of  an  alarm,  but  rather,  as  though  by 
unanimous  consent,  they  thought  it  well  to  go 
elsewhere. 

Dave  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder;  but 
before  he  fired  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  admire 
the  masterful  ease  and  self-possession  with  which 
each  quick,  upward  bound  was  made.  There  was 
never  a  slip  nor  a  scramble.  The  uplifting  and 
the  fall  of  every  foot  was  absolutely  sure,  and  was 
grace  itself. 

"  If  I  wait  any  longer  I  shall  lose  my  beauty," 
he  thought.  "Forgive  me,  old  fellow;  I'm 
actually  sorry." 

The  noble  ram  had  paused  after  a  magnificent 
jump;  and,  with  arched  neck  and  sidelong  bend 
of  the  head,  was  looking  down  toward  the 
plateau  and  the  lake. 

Taking  a  quick  aim  at  about  an  inch  behind 
the  shoulder,  Dave's  rifle  cracked,  and  the  sheep 
came  rolling  and  tumbling  down,  while  in  panic- 
stricken  terror  the  rest  of  the  band  swiftly  fled. 

He  was  not  instantly  killed,  and  even  as  he 
fell  his  sharp,  spreading  hoofs  and  the  rubbery, 


, 


DAVE  cori.n  S 


KST    DKTAIL    " 


HUNTING    THE    BIG-HORN.  205 

cushion-like  posteriors  of  his  feet  would  grip  the 
rocks,  where  he  would  hold  for  an  instant  and 
then  slip  below.  This  broke  the  force  of  his  fall, 
so  that  when  he  reached  the  shelf  upon  which  Dave 
stood,  at  a  point  some  distance  above  him,  he 
lay  quite  motionless. 

Fearing  he  might  fall  or  throw  himself  farther 
down,  Dave  made  his  way  to  him  as  quickly  as 
possible.  But  he  was  quite  dead. 

As  the  hunter -craving  had  been  entirely  ap 
peased  in  Dave,  and  there  being  no  occasion  for 
great  haste,  he  seated  himself  by  the  side  of  the 
body  and  examined  it  carefully. 

He  had  killed  sheep  before,  but  somehow  had 
never  felt  such  keen  admiration  for  them  as 
to-day. 

As  he  stroked  the  neck,  the  limbs,  and  horns, 
and  thought  how  full  of  brave  life  and  strength 
he  had  been  but  a  few  minutes  before,  there 
was  far  more  of  regret  than  of  the  hunter's 
exultation  in  his  mind. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  PLUNGE-BATH  — THE  CAVERN. 

Dave  sat  for  some  time  looking  out  over  the 
expanse  of  diversified  scenery  before  he  became 
fully  roused  to  a  sense  of  its  perfection.  But  at 
length  his  musings  turned  into  a  different  channel, 
and  he  exclaimed  with  a.  good  deal  of  energy  and 
enthusiasm  : 

"Well,  I  hadn't  thought  of  it  before,  but 
it  's  worth  risking  a  fellow's  neck  to  come  up 
here  just  for  the  view.  I  've  never  realized  the 
high-class  beauty  of  our  platform  camping-ground 
as  fully  as  I  do  this  minute.  The  foreground 
contrast  is  what  makes  the  whole  thing  especially 
perfect." 

It  was  indeed  a  beautiful  scene  before  him. 

At  some  little  distance  to  his  right,  coming 
from  an  unknown  height  above,  and  falling  prone 
into  the  lake  beneath  him,  was  the  waterfall, 
the  sound  of  whose  roar  and  dash  came  up  as 
pleasantly  to  his  ears  as  that  of  a  deep-toned 
organ. 

The  quiet  water  flashed  upward  to  him  reflec- 
206 


'    TIIK    PLUNGE -BATH  —  THE    CAVERX.      2O; 

tions  of  the  tense  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  the 
vapory  white  clouds,  and  the  umber  and  gray 
tones  of  the  overhanging  cliff. 

The  jireen  setting  of  trees  and  shrubbery  round 

o  o  J 

about  the  lake,  the  entire  shape  and  detail  of  the 
secluded  and  lovely  plateau,  and  the  distinctness 
with  which  everything  contained  upon  it  could 
be  viewed,  the  vanishing  outlet  of  the  lake,  the 
tents,  the  partly  built  cabin,  even  the  three  con 
tented-looking  donkeys,  were  all  directly  before 
him. 

On  his  other  hand,  and  curving  away  into  the 
distance,  was  the  arc  of  the  great  mountain  wall, 
while  the  entire  background,  front,  left,  and 
right,  was  formed  by  the  massive  and  variegated 
peaks  of  the  range  which  hemmed  him  in. 

"  To  me,  it  seems  like  a  liberal  education  only 
to  live  in  a  place  like  this,"  he  murmured.  "  To 
sit  here  and  absorb  this  scene  ought  to  be  enough 
to  make  even  the  cheapest  kind  of  a  man  feel 
poetic. 

"If  I  had  the  voice,  I  believe  I  wouldn't 
lack  inspiration  to  sing  heroic  hymns  —  something 
that  would  be  a  combination  of  the  triumphant 
and  the  solemn,  and  \vould  at  the  same  time  ex 
press  gladness  for  the  gift  of  eyesight.  It  's 
more  than  exhilarating;  it  's  fairly  uplifting." 

He  sat  for  a  long  time  musing  after  this  fash- 


208  T!1K    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

ion.  How  long  it  was  he  did  not  know,  for  he 
became  quite  lost  in  his  thoughts  and  in  the  scene 
before  him  ;  and  besides,  he  had  no  watch  with  him. 

But  finally  his  mind  returned  to  himself  and 
his  position,  and  to  the  dead  ram  beside  him. 

Looking  his  prize  all  over,  he  cogitated : 

"  I  wonder  how  I  'm  going  to  get  him  home. 
I  'd  like  to  take  nearly  everything  —  or,  at  least, 
the  head,  horns,  and  hide,  besides  the  meat ;  but 
he  must  weigh  more  than  two  hundred  pounds 
as  he  is  now. 

k'  The  first  thinjz  will  be  to  skin  and  dress  him, 

o 

and  get  the  mutton  to  camp.  That  's  simple 
necessity,  and  will  take  two  trips.  The  rest  of 
him  —  head,  skin,  and  so  forth  —  I  suppose  I  '11 
have  to  regard  as  luxuries,  and  make  them  wrait 
and  take  their  chance." 

Dave  then  drew  his  hunting-knife  from  his 
pocket  and  opened  it,  and  went  vigorously  to 
work. 

When  he  had  removed  the  hide  and  properly 
divided  the  carcass,  he  took  one  half  of  the  mut 
ton  upon  his  shoulder,  and  made  his  way  care 
fully  down  the  ledge  to  wrhere  his  rope  was 
hanging. 

Leaving  the  meat  there,  he  made  a  second  trip 
for  the  other  half,  and  afterwards  went  a  third 
time  to  get  his  gun  and  the  hide. 


THE  PLUNGE  -  BATH —  THE  CAVERN.  209 

This  much  accomplished,  he  fastened  half  of 
the  sheep  to  the  hanging  rope,  and  climbed 
hand-over-hand  to  the  upper  ledge,  where,  after 
removing  his  gun,  he  hauled  up  the  piece  of 
meat. 

Then  he  carried  this  portion  and  his  gun  down 
the  ledge  to  the  rock  ridge,  where  he  left  them, 
and  returned  to  the  rope. 

He  slid  down  the  rope  again,  fastened  it  to  the 
other  half  of  the  sheep,  then  climbed  up  and 
repeated  the  process. 

(i  There!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  've  got  all  my 
necessaries  of  life  here  on  horizontal  ground. 
Duty  first,  and  recreation  afterwards!  I  believe 
there  's  time  enough,  and  I  don't  see  why  I 
should  n't  go  back  and  get  my  luxuries.  That 
head  with  the  horns  is  the  finest  one  I  ever  saw, 
and  I  would  like  to  preserve  it." 

To  suggest  was  to  act,  and  it  was  not  very 
long  before  he  was  again  picking  his  way  down 
ward  along  the  ledge,  with  the  head  and  great 
horns  upon  his  shoulder. 

The  load  he  carried  this  time  was  not  only 
extremely  heavy,  but  of  large  bulk  and  very  un 
wieldy,  and  Dave  found  much  difficulty  in  keep 
ing  it  balanced,  and  in  maintaining  his  own  equi- 
librium  along  the  giddy  pathway. 

He   had   accomplished   the   larger  part   of  the 


2IO  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

distance,  and  was  beginning  to  feel  acutely  the 
strain  upon  his  muscles,  when  the  horns  of  his 
top-heavy  pack  struck  against  a  projecting  rock 
and  swayed  heavily.  He  put  up  his  left  hand  to 
save  it,  reeled,  his  foot  stumbled  over  an  ob 
stacle,  and  he  knew  himself  to  be  falling. 

Quickly  he  threw  off  his  unmanageable  bur 
den,  and  grasped  wildly  at  the  fragment  of  ledge 
that  was  nearest  within  reach,  missed  it,  and 
went  sliding  down  the  almost  precipitous  surface 
toward  the  shining  water  below. 

Dave's  courage  and  methodical  clear-headed 
ness  never  left  him  for  an  instant. 

11  I  'm  going  to  get  my  plunge-bath,  after  all," 
he  thought,  and  almost  smiled  at  the  ludicrous 
appearance  he  must  present. 

"There's  nobody  around  to  laugh  at  me, 
anyhow,  and  if  I  strike  nothing  more  than 
water,  I  don't  think  it  '11  be  awful." 

These  thoughts  flashed  quickly  through  his 
mind  as  he  slid  down  toward  the  unknown 
depth. 

The  height  above  the  water  of  the  spot  from 
which  he  fell  was  something  like  sixty  feet,  and 
although  the  larger  part  of  the  distance  was 
rather  more  of  a  slide  than  a  fall,  still  the  face 
of  the  rock  was  so  nearly  vertical  and  so 
smooth,  that  he  shot  downward  like  a  flash. 


hi 


r 


E.    SHOT     DOWNWARD    LIKK.    A    FLASH. 


THE  PLUNGE  -  BATH  —  THE  CAVERN.    2  I  3 

At  a  height  of  about  twenty  feet  above  the 
water,  the  inclined  plane  fell  away  into  a  sheer 
drop,  so  that  Dave  flew  out  into  the  air,  and 
thence  striking  the  water  feet  foremost,  he  dis 
appeared  and  went  far  down  beneath  the 
surface. 

He  kept  his  legs  pressed  together,  and  raised 
both  arms  high  above  his  head,  so  that  he  was 
not  injured,  but  as  he  rose  to  the  surface  he 
spluttered : 

''Ugh!  Goodness  gracious!  I  never  wrent 
into  anything  colder  than  this, —  even  when  I  've 
had  my  skates  on  !" 

Looking  about  him  as  he  swam,  he  was  at 
first  quite  filled  with  confusion  as  to  his  where 
abouts. 

"  I  'd  like  to  know  where  I  am,"  he  thought. 

o 

"  I  can  see  the  farther  side  of  the  lake,  a  long 
way  over,  but  I  can't  see  anything  else  except 
this  rock." 

Turning  about  in  the  water,  he  very  soon  real 
ized  that  he  had  fallen  into  a  small  rock-encir 
cled  cove,  whose  only  outlook  was  directly 
toward  the  remote  side  of  the  lake. 

To  get  his  bearings,  and  learn  just  how  far  it 
would  be  necessary  to  swim  in  order  to  save 
himself,  he  would  first  be  obliged  to  go  outside 
of  the  inclosing  walls. 


214  THE    JUG -HORN    TREASURE. 

The  uncertainty  about  this,  as  against  a  place 
of  temporary  security,  which  he  could  see  close 
at  hand,  decided  him;  and  he  made  for  a  cavity 
at  the  foot  of  the  wall,  which  showed  a  floor  or 
base  of  solid  character. 

Securing  his  hat,  which  floated  quite  near  by, 
a  few  strokes  carried  him  to  what  he  sought,  and 
raising  his  head  and  shoulders  from  the  water, 
he  looked  into  a  spacious  cavern. 

He  was  so  chilled  by  the  ice-cold  water  that 
he  did  not  hesitate  an  instant,  but  quickly  drew 
himself  within,  stood  erect,  and  then  shook  him 
self,  as  a  dog  would  do,  to  get  partially  freed 
from  the  weight  of  water  in  his  garments. 

"  Perhaps  this  could  n't  be  called  being  '  well 
off,'  but  it  \s  better  than  freezing  and  drowning 

<^>  o 

all  in  one  act,  anyway.  I  '11  wait  here  till  I  get 
my  breath ;  then  I  can  take  off  my  boots  and  the 
heaviest  part  of  my  clothes  before  I  swim  out  on 
any  exploring  expedition. 

11  Jiminy!  Whiz!  Who  would  have  thought 
the  water  was  as  cold  as  it  is?  It  seemed  to 
me  when  I  first  went  down  below  that  I  would 
be  turned  into  a  solid  marble  statue  before  I  could 
get  back  on  top  again.  Whew!  I  wish  I  had  a 
little  sunshine ! 

"  Now,  what  sort  of  a  place  is  this  I  've  been 
dropped  into?  " 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

A  CAVE  OF  WONDERS. 

Dave  began  to  look  about  him  curiously. 

The  only  apparent  opening  was  the  one  at 
which  he  had  entered.  After  his  eyes  had  be 
come  accustomed  to  the  change  from  the  brilliant 
sunshine  outside  to  the  comparative  dimness 
within,  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  space  near 
the  entrance  was  really  quite  light ;  but  he  rea 
soned  that  it  must  be  because  of  the  refracted 
rays  of  light  through  the  wonderfully  clear  and 
glassy  water. 

Where  he  was  standing  the  ceiling  was  scarcely 
more  than  a  foot  above  his  head ;  but  as  the 
apartment  seemed  to  expand  somewhat  farther 
back,  he  took  a  half-dozen  steps,  then  stopped 
and  faced  about  toward  the  entrance. 

The  shape  and  width  of  the  remarkable  apart 
ment  seemed  to  be  rather  curiously  regular;  for, 
with  the  exception  of  the  narrowing-up  at  the 
mouth,  there  were  apparently  up-and-down  walls 
which  did  not  recede  to  greater  width  apart  than 
eight  or  ten  feet. 

215 


2l6  THE    BIG-HORN    TRKASURH. 

"  I  don't  understand  this  thing  at  all,  but  I 
guess  there  must  be  an  explanation  somewhere, 
if  I  look  far  enough. 

"  I  'm  going  a  little  farther  back  to  see  how  it 
looks,"  he  said.  "Seems  almost  as  though 
somebody  had  been  running  a  tunnel  in  here  on 
a  vein.  If  he  has,  though,  he  knows  how  to  do 
nice  work.  He  hasn't  broken  up  his  walls  at 
all.  Neal  and  I  can't  keep  the  dynamite  from 
splintering  ours  up  so  badly  that  we  have  to 
timber  them  to  prevent  their  caving  in." 

He  went  a  dozen  or  more  steps  farther  back, 
when  he  found  that  there  was  a  cross-chamber, 
or  gallery,  into  which  he  could  penetrate  no 
great  distance  on  either  side  on  account  of  the 
darkness. 

So  he  continued  his  course  somewhat  farther 
straight  away  from  the  entrance,  and  after  turn 
ing  at  length  and  facing  about, —  because  it  was 
impossible  to  distinguish  anything  except  when 
looking  toward  the  light, —  he  was  interested  to 
see  that  the  gallery  was  less  regular,  or  at 
least,  was  more  broken  by  crossings  or  side- 
passages. 

"  There  's  something  very  odd  about  this,"  he 
thought. 

"  It  don't  look  like  the  work  of  men,  and  it 
don't  look  natural,  either." 


A    CAVE    OF    WONDERS.  21? 

He  moved  toward  the  entrance  again;  and 
when  he  readied  the  place  of  the  first  cross- 
gallery  something  at  his  feet  caught  his  eye,  and 
he  stooped  down  to  see  what  it  was  that  gave 
out  the  dull,  fiery  glow.  It  was  flat  and  irreg 
ular  in  shape,  metallic  in  feeling,  and  as  he 
raised  it  it  seemed  unusually  heavy. 

He  carried  it  down  to  the  better  light  near  the 
opening,  and  examined  it  closely.  Then  he  gave 
an  exclamation  of  astonishment  at  its  appear 
ance,  took  out  his  knife  and  scratched  it,  and 
shouted : 

11  I  've  struck  Aladdin's  Cave  this  time!  It  's 
a  nugget !  Solid  gold  !" 

The  piece,  in  length  and  breadth,  was  not 
unlike  the  shape  of  a  man's  hand,  and  must  have 
weighed  fully  twenty-five  ounces. 

After  testing  its  weight,  first  in  one  hand,  then 
in  the  other,  Dave  sang  out,  aloud: 

"It's  worth  four  to  five  hundred  dollars! 
I  don't  feel  half  so  cold  as  I  did,  and  I  'm  going 
to  see  if  I  can't  find  some  more." 

Dave's  voice  sounded  strange,  and  there  was  a 
hollow,  cavernous  roar  after  it,  but  the  strange 
ness  was  almost  entirely  lost  upon  the  boy,  over 
whom  had  suddenly  surged  a  premonitory  wave 
of  the  malady  known  as  ' i  gold  fever. ' ' 

He  walked  slowly  over  the  ground  again;   this 


2l8  THE    1UG-IIOKX    TREASURE. 

time  examining  the  floor,  walls,  and  ceiling  more 
carefully  than  at  first.  It  did  not  take  him  very 
long  to  come  to  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  what 
it  all  meant. 

The  floor  or  bottom  of  the  cavern  was  wholly 
covered  with  small  fragments  of  decomposed 
quartz  and  spar,  and  portions  of  similar  matter 
adhered  to  the  side-walls.  Overhead,  wherever 
he  could  touch  and  examine  closely,  it  was 
entirely  made  up  of  vein-stuff. 

Reaching  the  spot  where  he  had  found  the 
nugget,  he  dropped  upon  his  knees  and  began 
poking  in  the  rubbish.  In  a  few  minutes  he 
found  a  piece  about  half  the  size  of  the  former 
one,  partly  imbedded  in  spar  of  the  same  forma 
tion.  A  little  farther  search  brought  to  light 
several  other  nuggets,  all  smaller  than  the  first, 
whose  combined  weight  Dave  thought  must  be 
at  least  fifty  ounces. 

Then  he  arose  and  examined  the  character  of  the 
intersecting  or  cross-passage,  and  found  it  to  be 
very  much  like  that  of  the  main  gallery. 

"  It  's  plain  enough  now,"  he  said.  "  This  is 
no  work  of  man.  Nature  has  done  it  all.  This 
place  is  a  complete  proof  of  Neal's  idea  of  vein- 
stuffs  and  the  leaching  process  of  gold-gathering. 

11  Leaving  the  business  part  of  my  morning's 
work,  and  turning  back  after  the  sheep's  head, 


A    CAVE    OF    WONDKKS.  219 

has  also  proved  the  truth  of  the  old  saying",  that 
'  one  luxury  or  extravagance  always  leads  to 
another.'  This  case,  though,  works  out  a  little 
different  from  what  is  intended  in  the  maxim, 
don't  it? 

"  I  've  stumbled  upon  one  of  the  rarest  com 
binations  known  to  geological  science.  It  's  a 
vein  that  is  crossed  and  divided  by  several  others. 
All  of  them  being  nearly  vertical,  they  have  cut 
through  numerous  layers  of  stratified  rock,  and 
been  given  a  beautiful  chance  for  leaching. 

"Gold  has  been  gathered  into  large  nuggets, 
and,  down  here  at  this  depth,  through  some 
strange  chemistry  of  air  and  water,  the  vein-stuff 
has  been  entirely  decomposed,  and  let  part  of  the 
gold  loose  and  lying  in  the  rubbish.  There  's  a 
fortune  right  here,  and  I  guess  it  's  going  to  be  a 
mighty  easy  thing  to  get  it,  too. 

"  But,  goodness,  gracious!  It  's  beautiful  and 
wonderful,  and  all  that,  but  it  won  't  dry  my 
clothes,  nor  feed  me.  I  've  got  to  get  away  from 
here  in  double-quick  time." 

He  hurried  to  the  entrance,  quickly  removed 
his  boots  and  coat,  and  laid  them  with  his  little 
pile  of  nuggets.  He  took  only  one  broad,  flat 
piece,  which  did  not  weigh  more  than  two  oun 
ces,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 

Then    he    slipped    through    the     opening  into 


220  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

the  chilly  water,  and  swam  as  rapidly  as  he 
could. 

"  I  '11  be  all  right  if  I  don't  cramp,"  he 
thought. 

When  he  emerged  from  the  little  cove  into  the 
open  lake,  and  looked  around,  he  saw  that  he 
was  not  more  than  four  or  five  hundred  feet  from 
the  ridge  where  he  left  his  mutton,  so  he  struck 
out  boldly. 

Although  it  was  not  a  long  swim,  the  coldness 
of  the  water,  together  with  the  rather  rough  ex 
perience  Dave  had  been  having,  would  have  been 
a  severe  strain  upon  the  endurance  of  a  weaker 
boy  than  he.  He  was  a  fine  swimmer,  though; 
and  not  merely  this,  but  was  in  perfect  health, 
and  his  nerves  were  as  firm  as  a  rock;  so  that 
nothing  of  the  sort  would  give  him  the  least  fear, 
and  thus  weaken  his  powers. 

One  of  the  worst  features  of  the  swim  was  the 
difficulty  of  breathing  in  such  icy  water;  but  he 
finally  managed  to  drag  himself,  nearly  spent, 
ashore. 

"  Whew!  "  he  gasped.  "  But  that  's  an  ex 
perience.  I  'm  glad  I  did  n  't  have  to  swim  a 
mile.  That  sort  of  thing  would  be  great  prac 
tice  for  a  fellow  who  was  going  on  a  north  pole 
expedition.  Seems  as  if  I  'd  been  in  another 
world  and  got  back  to  earth  —  or  at  least  I  '11 


A    CAVE    OF    WONDERS.  221 

feel  so  as  soon  as  I  can  get  a  change  of  clothes 
and  something  hot  to  eat  and  drink.  Now,  for 
camp. 

He  climbed  the  ridge,  shouldered  one  of  the 
halves  of  mutton,  picked  up  his  rifle,  and  started 
for  camp  as  rapidly  as  he  was  able  to  get  along 
over  the  rocks  in  his  stockinged  feet. 

When  he  at  length  reached  there,  and  looked 
at  the  watch  hanging  in  the  tent,  he  was  sur 
prised  to  see  that  it  was  not  quite  noon. 

11  I  'vc  had  a  good  deal  of  life  crowded  into 
small  space  this  morning,"  he  said;  and  then 
went  about  changing  his  clothing. 

This  done,  he  lighted  a  fire  and  started  his 
dinner  to  cooking. 

"I '11  have  to  put  in  the  whole  afternoon  in 
the  kitchen,"  he  thought.  "  I  don't  believe  the 
boys  will  get  here  to-night ;  but  if  they  do, 
they  '11  be  mighty  hungry,  and  I  '11  have  to  give 
'em  as  good  a  spread  as  the  camp  affords." 

He  was  so  busy  throughout  the  afternoon,  and 
so  occupied  with  pleasant  thoughts,  that  he  was 
fairly  startled,  just  at  the  approach  of  dusk,  by 
a  shrill  whistle. 

He  looked  around  quickly,  then  said:  "Why, 
it's  Neal !  "  and  gave  a  cheery  answer  of  the 
same  kind. 

In  a  few  minutes  there  came  the  tramp  of  feet, 


222  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

and  as  the  returning  party  came  into  sight 
through  the  bushes,  Xeal's  hearty  voice  rang 
out : 

"  Davey,  boy,  seeing  ye  is  better  than  supper 
and  a  good,  soft  seat!  I  've  thought  of  heaps 
of  trouble  and  a  hundred  scrapes  you  'd  be  get 
ting  into." 

"You  may  be  sure  I'm  glad  to  see  you, 
too!"  cried  Dave,  as  he  shook  hands  with  all 
around. 

"If  I  'd  had  time  enough  on  my  hands  to 
think  about  it,  I  'd  have  been  lonesome  enough 
to  scream;  but,  you  see,  I  planned  my  business 
matters  so  that  I  've  been  able  to  fight  off  the 
hysterics. —  I've  had  the  'scrapes/  too;  but  I 
don't  look  any  the  worse  for  them,  do  I? — but, 
how  did  you  get  along? — never  mind  now, 
though.  You  're  tired  and  hungry.  Sit  down, 
boys!  Sit  down  and  rest,  and  dinner  will  be 
ready  in  five  minutes.  We  can  have  our  '  heap 
big  talk  '  then." 

"  We  won't  make  you  wait  for  the  important 
part,  Dave.  Wre  got  our  filings  in  ahead,  and 
everything  is  all  right.  We  've  got  a  great  story 
for  you,  though,"  said  Ken. 

"Good  enough!  Hurrah!  I  want  to  know 
everything  about  it !  "  cried  Dave. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE     VICTORS'     RETURN. 

Dinner  was  on  time,  according  to  Dave's 
agreement;  and  during  the  meal  a  full  account 
of  the  events  of  the  trip  was  given. 

The  talking  was  chief!}'  conducted  by  Phil  and 
Ken;  Phil  relating  his  adventure  in  getting  lost, 
and  Ken  giving  an  account  of  the  scene  in  the 
register's  office. 

When  they  had  finished,  Dave   remarked: 

"Considering  the  sort  of  crowd  it  is,  I  would 
think  we  may  look  for  another  visit.  Don't  you 
think  so,  Neal  ?  " 

"There's  no  telling  what  men  of  their  sort 
may  try  to  do,  especially  after  a  long  drunk. 
They  have  n't  any  sense — to  speak  of — Brodie 
knows  more  than  all  the  rest  together, —  and 
their  one  idea  now  would  be  'revenge.'  They 
might  have  some  sort  of  a  drunken  notion,  too, 
that  if  they  can  surprise  us  and  get  possession, 
they  'd  be  able  to  scare  us  into  transferring  a 
large  part  of  the  property  to  'em.  But,  there 
ain't  anything  to  be  afraid  of.  The  gang  is 
223 


224  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

without  cither  courage  or  brains.  All  we  need  do 
is  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  surprises." 

"There's  something  else  I  think  we  may 
have  to  do,  boys,"  returned  Dave.  "I've 
made  an  important  discovery  while  you  were 
away." 

Then  he  related  his  sheep-hunting  adventure, 
with  a  detailed  account  of  its  thrilling  and 
strange  conclusion. 

When  he  had  finished,  Phil  began  to  laugh, 
and  said : 

"Say,  Dave,  .  .  .  Excuse  me  for  laughing. 
You  know  I  would  n  't  think  you  'd  invent  a 
story  .  .  .  But  did  you  have  this  dream  in  the 
night,  or  in  the  daytime." 

"  All  right,  Phil.  If  I  were  in  your  place  and 
you  in  mine,  I  presume  I  would  ask  the  same 
question,"  replied  Dave.  But,  you  see,  I 
thought  about  that  very  thing,  so  I  had  just  sense 
enough  to  bring  away  a  little  proof. 

He  ran  into  the  tent,  and  extracting  the  nug 
get  from  the  pocket  of  the  trousers  he  had  re 
moved,  quickly  brought  it  forth  and  placed  it  in 
Phil's  hand. 

"  That  's  one  of  the  smallest,"  he  said,  smil 
ing.  "  Now,  if  you  '11  say  you  're  real  sorry, 
I  '11  take  you  over  to  where  the  rest  are,  to 
morrow.' 


THK    VICTORS'    RETURN.  225 

Exclamations  of  wonder  and  admiration  burst 
from  all  the  party. 

"  O,  say,  Dave!  Don't  leave  me  out!  I  won't 
do  it  again,"  cried  Phil. 

"All  right,  Phil.  I  accept  the  apology,"  said 
Dave,  laughingly.  "  I  had  to  make  you  do  it 
for  the  sake  of  dignity  and  appearances.  Between 
vou  and  me,  if  I  had  n't  kept  my  head  well  enough 

•*  J  o 

to  bring  away  this  piece,  I  might  think  of  it  now 
as  only  a  dream,  too." 

"  There's  no  dream  about  this  little  chunk, 
Dave,"  said  Neal.  "It's  worth  a  good  forty 
dollars.  I  s'pose  you  did  n  't  notice  whether  the 
vein  was  well  defined  at  the  surface;  that  is, 
right  up  through  the  mountain?" 

"  I  never  saw  it  at  all,"  replied  Dave.  "I 
was  only  thinking  about  the  sheep.  I  know  now, 
though,  that  it  can  be  seen  plainly  enough.  But, 
say,  boys!  What  are  we  going  to  do  about  it? 

"I  feel  sure  that  it's  richer  than  the  '  Tel- 
luride.'  I  believe  there  are  easy  fortunes  in  it  for 
us  all.  But  it  's  outside  of  the  property  we  claim  ; 
the  ground  is  n't  ours;  Neal  and  Ken  have 
already  filed  claims,  and  Phil  and  I  are  not  of 
age." 

Ken  and  Phil  began  to  look  quite  serious,  and 
both  looked  at  Neal  as  though  the  best  hope  for 
an  answer  to  the  difficulty  lay  in  him. 


226  THE    Bid- HORN    TREASURE. 

Neal  stared  hard  into  his  cup  fora  few  minutes, 
before  he  said, 

"  That  is  a  puzzler,  Dave,  sure  enough.  \Ye 
might,  of  course,  go  ahead  and  work  out  all  the 

o  "     o 

loose  gold,  as  though  'twas  'placer'  ground, 
and  keep  the  thing  quiet.  .  .  .  The  local  rules 
of  most  all  districts  hold  that  up  as  the  right  of 
the  fellow  who  discovers  a  property.  .  .  . 

"But  it  ain't  safe,  because  you're  liable  to 
have  it  legally  taken  away  from  you  by  any  mean 
duffer  who  's  willing  to  make  trouble  for  you;  — 
and  besides,  you  're  really  stealing  Uncle  Sam's 
property  until  you  take  steps  to  show  you  're 
ready  to  buy  and  pay  for  it.  Most  men  seem 
to  think  there  ain't  any  moral  question  in  it  at 
all, — that  it's  just  a  legal  one,  or  else  one  of 
force;  but  I've  never  been  able  to  quite  see  it 
that  way. " 

"  That  's  right,  Neal!  "  exclaimed  Ken.  4<  I 
like  that  kind  of  talk.  The  business  world  is  too 
full  of  the  other  idea- — that  anything  you  can 
get  hold  of,  and  are  strong  enough,  or  smart 
enough  to  keep,  is  your  property.  That  sort 
of  belief  won't  do  for  the  man  whose  honesty 
is  of  the  right  kind.  If  there's  a  fortune  in 
this  new  discovery  of  Dave's,  we  must  try  and 
get  it.  There  must  be  some  just  and  honorable 
way  of  doing  so,  under  the  law.  But  if  there 


THE    VICTORS      RKTURX.  22; 

isn't,  then  I  think  we  would  better  let  somebody 
else  have  it. " 

"  Isn't  there  ;i  way  it  can  be  done,  Neal?" 
asked  Phil,  with  the  keenest  distress  in  his  voice. 

"  O  yes.  We  must  find  a  way.  I  've  got  an 
idea  in  my  head,  boys,  that  I  think  I  can  work 
out  by  morning.  Let  's  sleep  on  it.  To-mor 
row  morning  we  '11  go  over  and  see  Dave's 
'  dream,'  and  by  that  time  I  reckon  we  '11  have 
some  way  figured  out  that  '11  be  all  satisfactory. 

"  But  look  here,  Dave.  You  better  invent 
some  way  to  put  us  into  your  magic  cave  dry- 
shod.  Maybe  the  rest  of  us  ain  't  as  fond  of 
doing  the  '  muskrat  '  way  of  diving  into  holes 
as  you  are.  I  never  did  like  cold  water  very  well 
myself, " 

Dave  laughed,  and  said  gaily: 

"  I  've  got  that  fixed  already.  I  '11  show  you 
the  scheme  in  the  morning." 

Dave  then  began  to  speak  of  his  other  ex 
periences  at  camp  alone,  —  the  dreadful  loneliness 
of  the  evenings,  the  howling  of  the  wolves,  and 
the  real  pleasure  he  found  in  the  society  of  the 
rat. 

His  account  of  that  curious  animal  interested 
Phil  greatly. 

"  I  hope  he  will  stay  around  here,"  Phil  said. 
"  I  'd  like  to  get  acquainted  with  him." 


228  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

'' O,  he'll  never  leave  us  now,"  said  Neal. 
"  You  '11  be  on  intimate  terms  with  him  in  a  few 
days.  If  he  don't  bring  his  wife  and  children, 
and  all  his  sisters  and  brothers  and  cousins,  to 
live  with  us,  maybe  we  '11  be  able  to  get  along 
with  him  fairly  well." 

"I'm  feeling  very  friendly  myself,"  said 
Dave.  "  I  don't  believe  he  's  a  bad  fellow  at  all.  " 

Then  the  talk  drifted  away  to  the  pack-train 
which  was  to  be  expected  within  two  or  three 
days,  and  from  that  to  the  new  cabin  which 
ought  to  be  ready  to  receive  the  stores  when  they 
arrived. 

"  Dave  meanwhile  said  nothing  about  what 
he  had  accomplished  in  the  building  line. 

For  one  thing,  he  was  not  altogether  sure  that 
Neal  would  approve  of  the  quality  of  all  his 
work;  so  he  chose  to  remain  quiet  and  let  Neal 
discover  it  for  himself. 

And  so  bedtime  came,  and  with  it  sound, 
refreshing  sleep  for  all  the  boys. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

VOYAGE  OF  EXPLORATION.— XEAL'S  PEAX. 

Ncal  was  the  first  one  awake  and  out  in  the 
morning,  and  after  he  had  gotten  the  fire  started 
and  breakfast  well  under  way,  he  called  the  boys 
with  a  shout. 

"Ken!  Phil!"  he  cried.  "Come  and  see 
what  a  trick  the  rascal  Dave  has  played  on  us ! 
Why,  he  's  got  the  cabin  half  finished,  and  it  's 
a  big  one  too !  ' ' 

The  boys  never  needed  a  second  invitation  to 
rise,  and  were  speedily  outside,  each  doing  his 
part  in  the  work  of  the  camp. 

They  all  were  enthusiastic  in  their  praises  of 
the  work  Dave  had  accomplished,  but  he  himself 
made  light  of  it,  saying: 

"The  logs  are  very  small,  you  see.  In  fact, 
they  seem  more  like  poles  than  logs,  and  it 
was  n't  very  much  of  a  trick  to  get  them  here 
and  put  them  together." 

"  All  the  same,  the  '  poles'  are  big  enough  to 
make  mighty  heavy  lifting,"  responded  Neal. 

229 


230  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

"You  've  got  a  house  well  started,  and  I  don't 
see  how  you  managed  to  get  so  far  along  with  it.  " 

Dave  was  secretly  quite  delighted  with  Neal's 
approval,  but  he  only  said: 

"  O,  the  burros  are  unusually  good  workers." 

At  breakfast  Neal  said  : 

"  The  first  real  work  we  go  about  ought  to  be 
the  finishing  of  Dave's  house;  but,  of  course, 
we  've  got  to  see  this  '  fairy  grotto  '  the  boy  has 
found,  first  of  all.  How  are  you  going  to  get  us 
there,  Dave?  " 

"  O,  that  's  easy!  "  replied  Dave.  "  We  '11 
just  go  down  to  the  lake  and  cut  a  few  dead  aspen 
trees,  lash  them  together,  and  we  '11  have  a  raft 
that  will  float  us  all.  Then  we  can  pole  —  or 
paddle  —  it  right  over  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave. 
By  working  together  we  ought  to  make  it  all 
complete  in  half  an  hour." 

"Well,  I'm  ready  now,"  said  Neal,  rising 
from  the  table.  We  can  let  the  kitchen  take 
care  of  itself  for  once.  We  have  more  important 
things  on  hand. " 

So  all  hands  proceeded  to  the  lake  shore,  and 
in  a  little  while  had  completed  a  raft  large  enough 
to  comfortably  float  the  entire  party.  Three 
layers  of  small  logs  were  used,  by  crossing  them, 
and  then  lashing  together  with  ropes. 

"We  '11  have  some  nails  when   the  pack-train 


VOYAGE    OF    EXPLORATION.  231 

gets  here,"  said  Neal.  "A  few  of  them  would 
come  in  handy  here,  but  a  man  never  knows  how 
many  things  he  can  get  along  without  until  he 
tries. 

"  Are  we  all  ready?  " 

li  Let  me  go  to  the  camp  after  a  candle  and  a 
pick,"  said  Dave. 

He  returned  quickly,  and  said: 

"  Now,  then!  I  'm  all  ready,  if  the  rest  of  you 
are." 

"You  're  the  pilot  of  the  ship,"  said  Neal. 
"  Give  us  the  course,  and  we'll  do  the  pro 
pelling." 

"I  think  we  all  can  get  a  chance  to  work," 
replied  Dave.  "We  will  make  for  the  cliff.  I 
can't  see  the  point  from  here,  but  I  can  find  it 
when  I  get  over  there." 

For  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  the  water 
was  too  deep  to  admit  of  poling,  so  all  worked 
hard  at  paddling  with  their  poles.  This  was  slow 
and  laborious  work;  but  the  cliff  was  reached  at 
length,  and,  by  paddling  slowly  along,  Dave  was 
able  soon  to  point  out  the  narrow  cove,  and  at 
its  end,  at  the  water  level,  a  small  dark  space, 
which  he  said  was  the  entrance. 

It  all  became  clear  as  they  approached,  and 
as  Dave  brought  a  corner  of  the  raft  up  so  that 
it  reached  the  low  arch  of  the  entrance,  they 


232  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

found  it  would  be  difficult  for  all  to  creep  within, 
and  remain  perfectly  dry. 

11  We  must  be  careful  to  anchor  our  ship 
safely,"  Ncal  said.  "It  would  be  a  bad  pre 
dicament  to  have  it  go  adrift." 

"All  right,  Neal;  you  take  the  painter  and 
go  inside.  We  will  keep  her  steady  till  you  get 
the  cable  made  fast,"  said  Dave. 

Seeing  that  the  raft  could  be  steadied  better 
from  a  foothold  upon  the  ground,  Dave  did  not 
hesitate,  but  dropped  into  the  water,  waist  deep, 
and  stood  upon  a  slight  projecting  ledge  while 
he  held  the  raft  steady  for  the  others. 

Neal  then  crawled  within,  and  taking  the  end 
of  his  rope,  made  it  fast  around  a  pointed  rock 
inside. 

"All  fast!"  he  cried.  "You  can  come 
ashore ! 

Phil  went  first,  then  Ken,  and  lastly,  Dave; 
those  entering  first,  lending  a  hand  to  help  the 
others  through  the  aperture. 

\Vhen  all  were  inside,  Dave  said: 

"Well,  boys,  here  are  my  coat  and  boots. 
You  can  examine  these  other  things  and  see 
what  you  think  they  are  worth." 

As  he  spoke  he  pointed  to  the  little  heap  of 
nuggets  he  had  left,  and  picking  up  the  largest, 
he  placed  it  in  Neal's  hand. 


• "  I 

HB 


';  NEAL  THFX  CKAWI.KH  WITHIN, 


VOYAGE    OF    EXPLORATION.  235 

Ken  and  Phil  were  almost  breathless  with 
amazement  as  Neal  examined  it,  after  which, 
with  a  beaming  smile,  he  passed  it  to  Phil. 

k<  It  's  the  real  stuff,  boys.  Are  these  the  other 
pieces,  Dave?"  he  asked,  as  he  stooped  and 
looked  over  the  lot.  "About  a  thousand  dol 
lars'  worth,  I  should  say.  Come,  now!  Let  's 
look  around  and  get  all  the  points?  " 

Neal  had  brought  the  pick  from  the  raft,  and 
as  Dave  led  the  way  along  the  passage,  he  fol 
lowed  with  the  tool  in  his  hand. 

Dave  stopped  at  the  first  cross-passage,  say 
ing:  "  Here  is  where  I  found  them." 

Phil  and  Ken  at  once  dropped  to  their  knees, 
and  began  scraping  among  the  fragments  of  rock 
and  rubbish. 

"  Where  's  your  candle,  Dave?  "  asked  Neal. 

Dave  took  the  candle  from  his  pocket,  striking 
a  match  at  the  same  time. 

11  Let 's  see  what  this  side-passage  looks  like," 
Neal  said. 

They  turned  to  the  left,  the  dim  light  from 
the  tallow  candle  enabling  them  to  see  their  way 
without  stumbling. 

Ken  and  Phil,  meanwhile,  were  digging  with 
their  fingers  in  the  earth  and  rubbish.  The 
others  had  been  gone  but  a  few  minutes,  when 
Phil  cried  out  exultantly: 


236  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

ki  I  Ve  found  one!  I've  got  one!  A  big  one, 
too!" 

Dave  and  Neal  making  no  response,  he 
glanced  down  the  passageway,  but  the  light  from 
their  candle  was  not  visible. 

"Let  me  see,  Phil,"  said  Ken,  eagerly. 
"Why,  it's  larger  than  Dave's  biggest  one! 
Isn't  it  magnificent?  But,  here.  Take  it.  I 
shall  not  be  happy  until  I  find  one  of  my  own!  " 

He  began  to  dig  with  energy,  and  presently 
shouted : 

"Here  it  is!  A  small  one!  O,  here's  an 
other!  Three!  I've  found  three;  all  near 
together!  None  are  as  large  as  yours,  Phil,  but 
I  think  all  together  must  weigh  as  much." 

"Yes, "said  Phil.  "They  will  weigh  more 
than  mine. 

"Say,  Ken!  Have  you  noticed  what  a 
strange  sound  our  voices  have  when  we  shout? 
They  come  back  with  a  kind  of  ghostly  roar, 
from  every  direction,  one  echo  following  an 
other." 

"Yes,  I  think  it  must  be  on  account  of  the 
different  passages.  But  where  have  Dave  and 
Neal  disappeared  to?  I  've  been  so  busy  here 
that  I  didn't  even  notice  which  way  they  took. 
Did  you?  " 

4 '  Yes,  they  went  down  to  the  left.      Say,  Ken  ! 


VOYAGE    OF    EXPLORATION.  237 

Don't  you  feel  as  though  this  experience  of  the 
cave  and  the  wonderful  nuggets  of  gold  is  so 
astonishing  that  it  's  going  to  be  pretty  hard  to 
realize  it  afterwards?" 

"  I  was  thinking  that  just  now,"  replied  Ken. 
"To  be  sure,  we  hear  of  people  discovering 
mines  of  great  wealth,  and  every  little  while  an 
account  is  given  of  some  marvelous  '  find  '  that 
has  been  made,  but  it  all  seemed  so  remote  that 
I  never  even  imagined  myself  as  being  a  part  of 
it.  Even  now,  if  I  were  to  go  away,  I  doubt  if 
I  would  very  long  be  able  to  realize  that  I  've 
seen  these  things." 

"  Here  come  the  boys!"  cried  Phil,  and  the 
flickering  light  of  the  candle  was  seen  approach 
ing. 

As  it  came  nearer,  Dave  was  seen  to  be  carry 
ing  the  candle  and  pick,  while  Neal  bore  a  heavy 
piece  of  rock  in  his  hands. 

' '  The  cave  must  be  of  great  extent, ' '  said  Ken, 
as  the  others  came  up.  "  You  have  been  out  of 
sight  and  sound  for  quite  a  while." 

"The  voice  don't  carry  far  in  a  place  like 
this,"  replied  Neal.  "We've  not  been  far 
away.  The  passage  takes  a  sharp  uphill  slope  a 
few  steps  from  here,  and  the  roof  prevented  you 
from  seeing  our  candle.  We  've  been  to  the  end 
in  that  direction — 


238  THE    JUG -HORN    TREASURE. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  Dave,  till  I  carry  this  piece 
of  ore  down  to  the  entrance ;  then  we  will  explore 
a  little  farther.  We  must  n't  stay  long',  because 
we  ought  to  be  at  work  on  the  house." 

lie  was  back  in  a  minute,  and  started  with 
Dave  down  the  main  gallery. 

"  I  think  I  '11  go,  too,"  said  Ken. 

\Vhereupon  Phil,  rising  to  his  feet,  remarked: 

"The  ends  of  my  fingers  are  getting  rather 
worn.  I  'm  going  to  be  satisfied  with  my  one  nug 
get  for  the  present.  This  work  needs  a  pick  and 
shovel." 

They  followed  behind  the  others,  stopping 
occasionally,  with  them,  to  see  the  features  of 
the  different  intersecting  veins,  as  Ncal  pointed 
them  out.  These  became  much  less  marked  as 
they  went  farther  from  the  entrance,  and  at 
about  one  hundred  feet  distance  the  gallery 
ended. 

Neal,  with  his  pick,  dislodged  a  piece  of  rock 
from  the  end  wall  of  the  passage,  saying: 

"  I  want  to  compare  some  of  these  by  day 
light.  I  think  we  needn't  try  to  explore  the 
other  side-veins.  It  will  take  too  much  time, 
and  can  just  as  well  be  done  later  on.  I  under 
stand  the  situation  (or,  think  I  do),  and  maybe 
when  I  examine  my  specimens  I  '11  know  still 
more.  Let  me  take  one  more  piece  from 


VOYAGE    OF    EXPLORATION.  239 

the  side.  There!  That  will  do.  Now  let's 
go!" 

They  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  where 
they  gathered  up  Dave's  nuggets,  coat,  and 
boots,  and  crawled  back  to  the  raft  again. 

"That  hole  can  easily  be  enlarged,"  said 
Dave;  "  but  it  seems  to  me  we  will  be  wise  to 
let  it  alone  for  the  present,  or  until  we  are  pretty 
secure  in  our  rights." 

"Yes,  I  agree  with  you,"  replied  Neal. 

Then  he  turned,  and  glancing  up  the  face  of 
the  cliff,  he  pointed  with  his  finger,  saying: 

"There  's  the  vein,  boys,  as  plain  as  can  be. 
It  must  run  right  across  the  lake  and  pass  down 
the  lower  cliff  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  out 
let.  Well,  there  's  one  thing.  Even  if  somebody 
else  should  find  it,  he  might  tunnel  and  cross-cut 
till  he  had  it  'most  chopped  to  pieces  before 
he  'd  ever  find  the  bonanza  clown  below  here." 

"Yes,  that's  so,"  said  Dave;  "and  if  it 
had  n't  been  for  my  big-horn  and  the  cold  bath 
he  gave  me,  this  thing  might  have  remained  hid 
den  for  centuries  longer.  I  presume  there  must 
be  countless  things  in  the  mountains  as  strange 
and  undiscovered 

"  By  the  way,  I  wonder  what  became  of  the 
sheep-head.  I  never  saw  it  from  the  moment  I 


240  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

threw  it  off.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  guess 
I  can  spare  it.  I'm  going  to  name  the  new  mine 
the  '  Big- Horn.'  ' 

"The  head  would  sink,"  said  Neal.  "It  's 
at  the  bottom  of  the  lake  somewhere." 

"  Let  's  go  over  now  and  get  the  other  half  of 
my  mutton,"  said  Dave.  "  It  will  be  easier  than 
packing  it  away  round 

"  Now,  Neal,  if  you  've  got  your  scheme  fig 
ured  out,  you  might  tell  us  how  we  can  fix  things 
so  as  to  hold  the  property." 

"Well,  I  '11  tell  you  what  I  'm  thinking  of," 
replied  Neal. 

"  Our  pack-train  will  be  here  within  one  or 
two  days,  and  one  of  the  men  —  the  man  in 
charge  —  is  a  brother  of  my  old  partner,  Archie 
Campbell,  the  recorder  at  Gunnison.  Now,  there 
ain't  an  honester,  more  reliable  man  in  the  state 
of  Colorado  than  Archie ;  and  my  idea  is  to  get 
him  to  help  us,  and  to  pay  him  by  giving  him  an 
interest  in  this  claim 

"  I  mean,  I  would  propose  our  sending  a  letter 
to  Archie  by  his  brother;  tell  him  it  's  a  big 
thing,  and  offer  him  a  fifth  interest  if  he  will 
come  up  right  away  and  locate  the  claim  in  his 
own  name. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  it,  boys?  " 

"  I   think  it   a  first-class  plan,  and  I  'm  ready 


VOYAGE    OF    EXPLORATION.  241 

to  take  in  anybody  you  recommend,  Neal,"  said 
Dave. 

"So  ami,"  said  Phil.  "I  liked  Campbell 
very  much.  I  believe  he  's  a  fine  fellow." 

"  Yes,"  said  Ken,  "I  do  too.  Besides,  boys, 
it  will  be  a  good  thing  for  us  to  have  a  man  like 
Campbell  interested  with  us.  He  holds  a  posi 
tion  where  he  will  be  able  to  keep  us  posted  if 
anything  should  come  up  that  might  annoy  us." 

"  I  'm  glad  you  all  like  the  plan,"  returned 
Ncal.  "  I  thought  of  the  same  thing  Ken  speaks 
of;  and  it  might  possibly  be  worth  a  whole  lotto 
us.  You  see,  there  ain't  any  reason  (in  the  law) 
why  we  can't  take  up  more  than  one  claim  apiece 
here.  Ken  and  I  could  take  another  claim  each, 
along  this  vein  ;  but  the  time  might  come  when 
we  'd  have  to  fight  to  keep  off  just  such  sneaks 
as  Brodie  (in  the  law,  I  mean),  and  besides,  we 
need  more  good  witnesses. 

"  You  know  we  are  in  a  lonely,  out-of-way 
place  here,  and  the  only  man  at  present,  besides 
our  own  crowd,  who  could  testify  at  all,  will 
swear  against  us  if  he  ever  has  a  chance.  One 
claim  at  a  time  (  'specially  if  it  's  a  rich  one) 
is  enough  for  any  one  man.  It  's  an  easy 
thing,  always,  to  make  trouble  for  a  fellow  who's 
got  a  valuable  claim  (before  he's  got  his  patent 
fixed  up) 


242  THE    B1G-I10RX    TREASURE. 

'  Now  here  's  this  vein  that  runs  across  the 
lake  and  down  the  lower  cliff  —  same  as  the  other 
one.  I  'm  going  to  suggest  that  Archie  bring 
another  man  with  him  to  locate  the  extension. 
We  '11  offer  him  the  same  terms.  Do  you  all 
agree  to  this?  " 

'Yes,"  they  all  said,  instantly;  and  that 
being  settled,  Neal  resumed  :  "  We  '11  get  to  work 
now  and  finish  our  house." 

By  this  time  the  raft  had  touched  the  shore  by 
the  ridge.  It  required  but  a  minute  for  Dave  to 
bring  his  mutton  on  board,  and  then  they  headed 
for  camp,  which  they  reached  in  a  short  time. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

ARRIVAL    OF    THE    PACK-TRAIN. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  Neal,  ''while  you're 
making  fast  the  raft,  and  begin  at  chopping  logs, 
I  'm  going  to  make  sure  about  the  course  of 
Dave's  4  Big- Horn'  vein.  If  it  's  over  here  —  as 
it  must  be- — it  won't  take  me  long  to  find  it. 
I'll  be  with  you  pretty  soon,"  and  he  struck 
off  through  the  brush  toward  the  edge  of  the 
plateau. 

The  boys  had  hardly  more  than  gotten  well  at 
work  chopping,  when  he  returned,  saying: 

"  I  found  it  without  a  bit  of  trouble.  It  's  a 
good  vein,  too,  similar  to  the  Telluride  in  size 
and  formation.  I  don't  think  it  's  any  better, 
but  it  's  liable  to  be  as  good.  The  cross-veins 
and  the  free-gold  deposit  over  at  the  cave  don't 
necessarily  affect  this  end  of  it  a  bit. 

"  Now,  Dave,  as  long  as  you  're  a  'teamster,' 
I  think  you  better  harness  up  the  animals,  and 
two  of  you  can  haul  logs,  while  two  of  us  chop. 
With  another  man  I  can  keep  you  hustling." 

At  noon  Neal  declared  there  were  enough  logs 
243 


244  THE  JUG- IIORX    TRKASURK. 

to  complete  the  walls  and  roof.  The  burros 
were  therefore  set  loose,  and  all  hands  turned 
themselves  into  builders. 

So  skillful  and  ready  was  Neal  at  the  work, 
and  with  such  zeal  did  all  the  boys  devote  them 
selves  to  their  task,  that  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  of  the  following  day  Neal  pronounced 
the  house  finished  about  as  far  as  they  could 
go,  until  the  train  arrived. 

lt  W7e  've  got  some  roofing-paper  coming,  that 
we  can  stretch  over  the  roof-poles,  and  then  we  '11 
be  as  snug  and  dry  as  if  we  were  at  the  hotel  in 
Gunnison,"  said  Neal. 

"Now,  Dave,  I  think  the  train  will  be  here 
to-night.  If  you  '11  be  kitchen-artist  for  the  rest 
of  the  day,  the  other  boys  and  I  will  gather 
moss  and  make  '  chinking  '  to  stop  up  the 
cracks 

"  We  've  got  some  window-sash  coming  up  too, 
besides  a  lot  of  tools.  We  '11  have  a  combined 
house  and  workshop  here  that  we  '11  be  proud  of, 
when  she  's  all  fixed  up." 

"I  suppose  you've  built  many  of  them, 
Neal,"  remarked  Phil. 

"Yes,  indeed.  I  really  don't  remember  how 
many,"  he  answered. 

The  afternoon  wrore  rapidly  along,  and  so  much 
interested  was  everybody  with  his  work  that  the 


ARRIVAL    OF    THE    PACK-TRAIN.  245 

pack-train  came  very  near  to  arriving  among  them 
before  they  were  aware. 

Dave  was  the  first  to  hear  the  shouts  of  the 
drivers,  and  ran  toward  the  cabin,  calling  out  to 

o 

the  busy  workers : 

"Tra-a-a-in    coming!      Cle-e-e-ar  the   track!" 

Instantly  all  work  was  dropped,  and  the  whole- 
party  gathered  at  the  edge  of  the  plateau  nearest 
camp  to  watch  the  interesting  and  curious  sight. 

From  around  a  sharp  angle  of  the  huge,  tower 
ing  wall  of  cliff,  where  the  thin  line  of  the  trail 
hung  suspended  between  valley  and  sky,  came  a 
long  procession  of  clean-limbed  mules,  a  large 
portion  of  the  body  of  each  animal  so  hidden  by 
his  load  as  to  suggest  a  chattel-bundle  with  legs. 

A  man  was  in  advance,  and  the  train  was  di 
vided  into  three  sections,  with  one  man  behind 
each  section  of  about  twelve  mules. 

One  animal  would  have  two  heavy  casks  slung 
one  on  either  side;  another  would  have  a  regular 
pile  of  bulky,  but  lighter  boxes;  another  would 
seem  still  more  overladen  beneath  mattresses 
and  blankets.  A  long,  motley,  and  weird  cara 
van  it  was,  considering  the  wild  and  savage  back 
ground  of  the  scene. 

Some  bore  flour,  and  others  provisions;  some 
heavy  tools  and  explosives.  One  had  large, 
square  tins  of  kerosene  oil,  and  a  case  of  lamps  and 


246  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

fixtures;  while  the  separate  and  detached  pieces 
of  the  stove  were  distributed  over  the  backs  of  a 
number  of  the  animals. 

Phil  counted  thirty-four  altogether,  and  the 
boys  all  remarked  how  flagged  and  worn  the  poor 
brutes  seemed. 

As  the  mules  slowly,  and  one  by  one,  reached 
the  broad  level  of  the  plateau,  Neal  advanced  to 
the  man  in  the  lead  and  shook  hands,  savin"- : 

•*  o 

"Glad  you've  got  through  all  right,  Harry. 
Did  you  make  it  without  any  accident?" 

"Ah,  Neal!  Glad  to  see  you!  "  returned  the 
man.  (t  The  mules  are  glad  to  get  here,  I  '11  bet. 
Do  you  know,  this  trail  of  yours  is  about  the 
toughest  I  ever  struck?  I  've  seen  bad  ones 
a-plenty,  too.  It  's  not  only  narrow  and  danger 
ous,  but  a  terrible  climb.  Some  of  the  beasts 
would  n't  have  held  out  another  mile. 

"No,    we    didn't    have   any    unusual    run    of 
bad  luck.      Lost  one  mule,  but  we  saved  his  pack 
—  or  the  most  of  it." 

As  the  train  began  to  gather  and  group  around 
the  newly  built  cabin,  everybody  went  vigorously 
to  work  at  unpacking. 

With  eight  men  this  did  not  require  a  very 
long  time,  and  when  it  \vas  accomplished,  the 
piles  of  merchandise  made  up  a  total  rather  sur 
prising. 


A    LONG    PROCESSION   OF   CLEAN- LIMHI-IO    MULES.' 


ARRIVAL    OF    THE    PACK  -  TRAIN.  249 

The  released  mules,  each  and  all,  first  gave 
themselves  the  luxury  of  a  good  roll,  then  a  long 
drink  at  the  lake,  after  which  they  went  eagerly 
to  grazing. 

After  supper  Neal  held  a  conversation  with 
Harry  Campbell,  and  then  wrote  a  short  but 
vigorous  letter  to  Archie,  urging  him,  if  he 
wanted  an  interest  in  the  best  piece  of  property 
in  the  county,  to  come  up  without  a  minute's 
delay,  and  bring  another  good  man  with  him  to 
take  up  an  extension  of  the  same  vein. 

The  camp  was  astir  very  early  in  the  morning, 
as  the  packers  wished  to  get  away  at  dawn  ;  and 
as  soon  as  breakfast  was  over,  Neal  gave  the  letter 
to  Harry,  saying: 

"The  sooner  Archie  gets  this,  the  better  he 
will  like  it;  so  I  hope  you  won't  have  any  delay 
on  the  road." 

"All  right,  Neal,"  returned  Harry.  "I'll 
get  through  before  noon  to-morrow,  if  we  have 
good  luck. " 

So  saying,  and  with  pleasant  "  good-bys,"  the 
long   train   of  mules  —  unburdened,  except  with 
their    "  aparcjos  "    (or    Mexican   pack-saddles)  — 
set  out,  with  their  shouting  drivers,  upon   their 
returning  and  downward  journey. 

For  two  or  three  days  little  else  was  done  or 
thought  of  by  our  boys  than  the  storing  away  of 


250  THE    TUG -HORN    TREASURE. 

their  goods  and  finishing  up  and  making  the  house 
as  comfortable  as  possible. 

First,  the  roof  was  made  thoroughly  tieht  with 

o        J  o 

the  tarred  paper.  The  stove  was  set  up,  a  door 
made  and  hung  (the  material  for  which  was  hewn 
and  split  out  of  aspen  trunks),  bunks  were  built, 
and  shelves  nailed  up  around  the  walls. 

At  last  everything  was  nicely  stowed  away,  and 
as  the  boys  sat,  in  the  evening,  by  the  light  of 
their  oil  lamp,  all  looked  smiling  and  contented, 
with  the  exception  of  Neal. 

"Dave,"  said  that  usually  happy-faced  indi 
vidual,  "that  supper  you  cooked  on  the  new 
stove  was  all  right,  and  in  the  morning  I  '11  try 
my  hand  at  it  for  breakfast.  I  've  cooked  on 
'em,  and  of  course  they're  fine  things,  'specially 
in  bad  weather;  but  somehow  I  guess  I  'd  always 
feel  more  at  home  with  an  open  fire.  One  thing 
is  sure:  a  stove  ain't  of  any  use  for  sociability. 
This  cabin  lacks  something,  and  it  needs  it 
bad.  That  's  a  fireplace.  The  very  first  half 
day  I  can  get  a  lay-off  I  'm  going  to  make  one. 
I  can't  live  here  and  be  happy  without  it." 

This  idea  was  heartily  applauded  by  all  the 
others,  who,  without  having  realized  what  had 
been  lacking,  now  knew  that  a  fireplace  was 
necessary  to  their  peace  of  mind. 


A  R  RI VA I .    OF    Til  I-:    P  AC  R  -  T  R  A  IN.  251 

Then  the  discussion  was  begun  as  to  the  line 
of  work  for  the  next  day. 

11  I  think  we  had  better  go  to  work  on  the 
tunnel  again,  boys,"  said  Xeal.  "  If  Archie 
comes  up  and  we  fix  him  out  with  the  certificate 
to  file  on  the  Big- Horn,  then,  I  imagine,  after 
that  we  will  want  to  do  our  easiest  and  best-pay 
ing  work  first;  but  until  we  introduce  him  to  the 
property,  I  think  we  had  better  let  it  lie  as  fresh 
and  undisturbed  as  possible.  Don't  you  think 
so?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  others. 

"Besides,"  Dave  continued,  "it  wouldn't 
look  manly  or  dignified  to  go  running  off  after  a 
new  thing,  just  because  it's  got  more  shine  and 
glitter  to  it  than  the  old.  If  our  first  '  find  ' 
was  as  good  a  thing  as  we  wanted,  until  we 
found  this  last  one,  it  \s  good  enough  to  put  our 
best  energy  on  now." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk,  Davey!"  cried 
Neal,  and  he  looked  admiringly  at  his  young 
mate.  "What  do  you  say,  Phil;  and  you, 
Ken?" 

"Dave  talks  the  best  kind  of  sense,"  said 
Ken.  "  Before  he  described  the  situation  so 
nicely,  I  was  beginning  to  sort  of  wonder  what 
we  wrere  going  to  do  with  our  so  numerous  inter 
ests  and  great  riches.  It  'sail  plain  now." 


252  THE  iu(;-iic)RX  TREASURE. 

"  Well,"  said  Phil,  "  I  'm  not  going  to  deny 
that  the  new  '  find  '  takes  hold  of  me  with  a 
stronger  pull  than  the  old  one.  It  's  fascinating 
work  digging  out  thirty-ounce  nuggets,  and  I  'd 
be  willing  to  keep  it  up,  and  let  all  other  pursuits 
go  for  a  good  while.  I  shall  never  be  really  con 
tented  to  work  at  anything  else  now,  until  1 
feel  sure  we  have  scraped  out  the  very  last 
chunk  of  gold  that  's  to  be  found  over  yonder. 
Still,  I  realize  the  sense  of  what  you  fellows 
say,  and  at  least,  you  won't  find  me  hanging 
back  in  any  kind  of  work  that  it  seems  best  to 
do." 

There  was  a  loud  and  hearty  laugh  at  Phil's 
confession,  and  Dave  said: 

"  What  you  say  will  apply  to  us  all,  Phil,  and 
it  's  a  good  thing  always  to  know  just  how  and 
where  we  stand.  I  guess  it  's  also  a  good  thing 
for  every  fellow  to  discipline  himself  once  in  a 
while." 

So  it  was  arranged  to  resume  work  on  the 
tunnel  early  the  next  morning. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    RAID.  — NEAL'S    CHECKMATE. 

During  the  last  few  days  there  had  been  little 
thought  of  trouble  from  their  late  acquaint 
ances, —  one  reason  being,  perhaps,  a  sense  of 
security  which  came  from  being  all  together 
again,  and  a  feeling  that  there  was  only  one 
direction  from  which  it  would  be  possible  for 
anyone  to  approach  the  plateau. 

From  the  clump  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  a 
clear  view  could  be  had  of  the  last  long  stretch 
of  trail  as  it  neared  the  shelf.  This  view  had 
been  assisted  by  clearing  away  a  line  of  under 
brush  for  some  distance,  so  that  there  seemed 
perfect  safety  from  surprise  when  they  were 
occupied. 

All  hands  were  hard  at  work  in  and  about  the 
tunnel  by  the  time  that  the  morning  sunshine 
had  thoroughly  lighted  up  the  plateau. 

Phil  and  Ken  took  their  first  lesson  in  practical 
mining. 

Ken  and  Neal  were  working  at  the  inner  end, 
or  "breast"  of  the  tunnel,  and  Neal  held  the 

253 


254  TIIK  UK;- HORN  TRKASURK. 

steel  drill  while  Ken  struck  it  with  the  drill-ham 
mer,  or  sledge. 

Phil  and  Dave  were  at  work  about  the  mouth. 
Phil  was  wheeling  out  ore  and  refuse  with  a 
wheelbarrow,  while  Dave  was  preparing  a  set  of 
timbers  to  be  used  inside. 

The  ax  Dave  was  using  seemed  to  him  to  be 
so  dull  that,  after  working  with  it  for  some 
time,  his  patience  became  a  little  strained,  so  he 
started  with  it  for  the  camp,  saying: 

"There  's  a  sharper  one  in  the  cabin.  I  '11  go 
and  get  it." 

He  walked  quickly  to  the  camp,  and,  after  ex 
changing  axes,  was  about  to  return,  when  it  oc 
curred  to  him  that  there  had  been  no  drinking- 
water  taken  out  to  the  tunnel. 

"  I  '11  get  a  bucketful  from  the  lake,  and  take 
it  over, "  he  said. 

Taking  a  pail  from  the  cabin  he  started  down 
the  path,  which  had  now  become  well  worn  by 
daily  use;  and,  as  he  drew  nearer  to  the  water, 
something  reminded  him  of  the  morning,  a  few 
days  before,  when  his  eye  had  caught  the  reflec 
tion  of  the  mountain  sheep. 

He  paused,  saying: 

11  I  wronder  if  I  Ve  scared  the  poor  beasts  so 
they'll  never  come  back  here  again,"  and  ran 


THE  IK    FIRST    I.KSSON    IX    PRACTICAL    MINING.' 


his  eyes  up  a.nd  down  the  cliff  beyond  the  lake, 
where  had  been  the  scene  of  his  curious  adven 
ture. 

The  glow  of  sunlight  all  over  the  mountain 
side  was  so  full  and  strong,  that,  for  a  minute, 
the  details  of  ledge  and  seam  did  not  become 
visible.  Gradually,  though,  the  markings  began 
to  take  shape,  and  his  gaze  rested  upon  the  high 
point  \vhere  he  had  crouched  when  he  fired  and 
brought  down  the  ram. 

Something  was  stirring  up  there,  and  Dave 
smiled  with  pleasure  to  think  that  he  might  still 
be  able  to  admire  their  activity  and  grace ;  when 
suddenly,  the  moving  thing  stood  out  in  clearer 
relief,  as  it  came  to  a  spot  where  the  rocks  behind 
were  in  shadow. 

Then  he  almost  dropped  his  pail  in  astonish 
ment,  to  see  that  it  was  a  man. 

For  an  instant  he  felt  so  strongly  inclined  to 
doubt  the  evidence  of  his  eyesight  that  he  looked 
down  toward  the  ground,  that  he  might  make 
another  test.  But  in  another  moment  there  \vas 
no  room  for  skepticism;  as  the  figure  stood  still, 
and  was  beckoning  with  its  hand  in  the  direc 
tion  from  which  it  came. 

Fortunately  Dave  was  standing  in  the  bushes ; 
and  now  he  dropped  upon  his  knees,  so  that  he 


258  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

could  look  through  the  branches  and  remain 
wholly  screened. 

Now,  to  his  astonishment,  there  appeared,  at 
a  little  distance  behind  the  first  figure,  a  file  of 
five  other  men  creeping  carefully  along  down  the 
ledge  in  the  same  direction. 

"  It  's  Brodie  and  his  precious  outfit,  as  sure 
as  I  'm  alive!  We  're  in  for  trouble  now! 

Without  pausing  for  another  instant,  he  crawled 
back  through  the  bushes  until  he  reached  thick 
and  high  timber,  when  he  started  for  the  tunnel 
as  fast  as  he  could  run,  keeping  the  foliage  be 
tween  himself  and  the  cliff. 

Arriving  at  the  tunnel,  he  burst,  breathless 
and  excited,  upon  the  three  busy  miners,  ex 
claiming: 

' '  Brodie  and  his  crowd  are  here  !  They  're  com 
ing  clown  the  cliff  above  the  lake !  Coming  by 
the  very  same  ledge  I  used  when  I  brought  down 
my  sheep!  Come  quick!  We  're  bound  to  have 
a  fight,  and  we  must  get  our  rifles!  " 

"  Well,  I  'm  not  sorry  to  settle  it  with  them," 
cried  Phil.  ''If  they  must  have  a  fight,  we'll 
give  them  one ! 

Neal  simply  said: 

"  Wait  a  minute,  boys!  We  must  act  all  to 
gether,  and  with  common  sense,  now!  Are  you 
willing  to  let  me  be  captain  in  this  scrimmage?  " 


ALMOST    DKdITKD    HIS    PAIL    IN    ASTONISHMENT/ 


THK    RAID. — XEAI.'S    CHECKMATE.  261 

"  Yes!  "  was  the  unanimous  reply. 

"All  right  then!  We  're  now  under  military 
rule  for  awhile!  Dave,  as  I  understood  your 
account  of  the  ledge  yonder,  it  runs  out  at  the 
lake,  and  they  won't  be  able  to  get  to  the  bottom 
without  throwing  themselves  clown  into  the  water. 
Do  you  s'pose  they  're  so  foolish  or  so  whisky- 
mad  as  to  do  that?  " 

"Oh!  Good  gracious,  Neal!"  gasped  Dave. 
"  I  've  never  once  thought  of  it  until  this  minute, 
but  my  rope  still  hangs  fastened  tightly  where  I 
left  it!  They  can  climb  it,  as  I  did,  and  come 
right  along  to  the  ridge  of  rocks  over  in  the 
corner ! 

Neal  's  eyes  were  shining  with  a  light  that,  to 
Ken,  seemed  something  like  fierce  anticipation 
—  almost  of  happiness. 

"  Now,  boys,"  he  said,  "if  I  'm  commander, 
you  're  to  do  exactly  as  I  say;  and  you  're  not  to 
do  a  thing  except  when  I  give  you  permission  ! 
The  first  thing  is  to  get  our  guns  from  the  cabin  ! 
Dave,  show  us  back  by  the  way  you  came,  through 
the  trees!  " 

Quickly,  but  cautiously,  they  made  their  way 
to  the  little  clearing  next  to  the  house,  where 
they  paused. 

"  Dave,  do  you  think  they  're  down  low  enough 
by  this  time  so  they  '11  not  be  able  to  see  into 


262  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

the  clearing?  We  mustn't  let  them  see  us. 
They  've  planned  to  surprise  us  when  we  were  all 
at  the  tunnel,  working,  and  now  I  want  to  give 
them  the  surprise." 

"I  don't  know  for  certain,  Neal,  but  let  me 
do  this.  I  '11  run  around  to  the  farther  side  of 
the  cabin,  —  keeping  hidden  in  the  brush  all  the 
time, —  and  get  the  guns  and  bring  them  back 
the  same  way. " 

"Good  idea,  Dave!  But,  as  you  're  to  obey 
orders,  you  stay  right  here,  and  I  '11  go!  "  and 
away  he  went  with  a  speed  and  deft  gliding 
motion  through  the  bushes,  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  an  Arapahoe  scout. 

They  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  He  was 
back  among  them  almost  before  they  were  aware 
of  it. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  '11  lead!  All  follow  me! 
Here,  each  of  you  take  his  own  rifle,  and  exam 
ine  it  carefully,  to  see  if  it  's  all  right  and  the 
magazine  full!  All  ready?  Come  then!  " 

He  started  off  through  the  bushes  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  outlet  to  the  lake.  His  progress  was 
so  swift  that  all  the  others  had  to  strain  to  keep 
up  with  him. 

When  they  reached  the  stream,  and  had 
crossed  upon  the  log,  Neal  stopped,  and  said: 

"  The  line  of  trees  ends  a  short    distance  from 


THE  RAID. —  XEAL'S  CHECKMATE.       263 
here,  but  if   the   men   are   down    low   cnoucfh,  we 

o       " 

can  slip  along  behind  the  rocks  without  being 
seen  !  When  we  get  to  the  edge  of  the  timber, 
all  of  you  stay  hid  while  I  go  ahead  to  spy  a  lit 
tle !  If  I  beckon  to  you  once,  I  want  only 
Dave;  if  more  than  once,  you  can  all  come,  but 
keep  out  of  their  sight  behind  the  rocks!  " 

They  kept  on  to  the  limit  of  the  trees,  when 
Ncal  raised  his  hand,  and  all  paused.  Then, 
cautiously  making  his  way  among  the  rocks  to 
the  highest  point,  he  peered  over  toward  the 
cliff. 

A  moment  more  and  he  crept  back  until  well 
down  the  slope,  then  beckoned  three  times, 
whereupon  all  three  boys  hastened  to  join  him. 

"  They  can't  see  us  if  we  keep  along  the  base 
of  the  ridge,"  he  whispered.  "  They  've  got  to 
the  rope  now,  and  Brodie  is  giving  directions. 
We  must  hurry,  but  do  it  mighty  careful! 
About  two  hundred  feet  farther  on  is  a  fine  place 
for  us  to  make  a  stand.  We  '11  be  sheltered  from 
them,  and  within  fine  rifle  range!  " 

In  a  few  minutes  he  paused  again,  and  whis 
pered  : 

"  Right  here  's  the  place!  I  '11  go  up  ahead! 
You  see  the  little  clump  of  jack-pines  at  the  top? 
They  '11  screen  us,  and  we  '11  have  a  chance  to 
keep  behind  the  rocks,  besides!  " 


264  THE    IJir, -HORN    TREASURE. 

Me  was  up  in  a  moment,  and  after  glancing 
through  the  limbs,  beckoned  for  the  others. 

The  boys  instantly  ran  up  to  his  side,  and 
beheld  an  interesting  sight.  Three  men  were 
already  upon  the  upper  ledge,  and  three  were 
still  below,  one  of  whom  was  preparing  to  ascend 
the  rope.  Brodie  was  among  the  three  who  were 
below,  and  the  rifles  were  all  together  in  a  lean 
ing  stack  on  the  lower  shelf. 

While  they  looked,  the  fourth  man  grasped 
the  rope  and  began  to  climb;  and,  as  he  dangled 
there  against  the  side  of  the  mountain,  Neal's 
plan  of  action  shaped  itself  in  his  mind, —  all  in 
the  space  of  a  minute. 

Turning  to  the  boys,  who  wrere  all  close  at  his 
elbow,  he  said  quietly,  but  with  great  earnest 
ness  : 

'k  Boys,  I  made  up  my  mind  from  the  start 
that  there  's  to  be  no  killing  here,  if  we  can  get 
along  without  it,  and  protect  ourselves  at  the 
same  time ;  but  you  can  see  that  the  time  has 
come  for  a  prompt  move,  and  it  's  got  to  be  a 
strong  one!  Whatever  happens,  remember,  I 
wanted  to  avoid  bloodshed!  I'm  going  to 
shoot  just  as  the  next  man  goes  up  the  rope! 
That  's  Brodie!  You  see  he  's  next!  But  don't 
any  of  the  rest  of  you  shoot !  Wait  till  I  tell 
you  ! 


THE  RAID. —  XEAL'S  CHECKMATE.        265 

"  The  fourth  man  is  up,  and  see!  There  goes 
Broclic!  Mind,  I  don't  mean  to  kill!  ' 

Thrusting  his  rifle  through  the  branches,  Neal 
took  a  steady  and  careful  sight.  Brodie  was  two- 
thirds  of  the  way  up  when  Neal's  rifle  cracked, 
and  the  suspended  man  fell  like  a  log,  still  clutch 
ing  the  rope  which  waved  wildly  in  the  air. 

He  struck  the  lower  ledge  with  his  feet,  but 
his  equilibrium  was  wholly  lost;  and,  clutching 
vainly  at  the  air,  with  a  wild  scream  he  toppled 
and  went  whirling  down  the  sheer  descent  to  the 
lake  below.  He  turned  a  half  somerset,  struck 
the  water  head  foremost,  and  with  a  mighty 
splash,  disappeared. 

This  occupied  but  a  moment;  and,  before  the 
knave's  companions  were  able  to  quite  realize 
what  had  occurred,  Neal  pumped  another  cart 
ridge  into  his  gun  and  aimed  a  second  time. 

Just  as  Brodie  vanished  from  sight,  he  fired 
again,  and  the  remaining  —  or  sixth  —  man,  still 
on  the  lower  ledge,  staggered,  clutched  his  right 
arm  with  his  left  hand,  and  fell,  limp  and  help 
less,  upon  the  ledge. 

He  managed  to  grasp  a  rim  of  rock,  however, 
and  thus  saved  his  balance ;  but  yelled  in  a  terror- 
stricken  voice : 

"  I  'm  killed!   Oh,  I  'm  killed!  " 

Neal  gave  a  quiet  chuckle,  saying: 


266  THE    JUG -HORN    TREASURE. 

"Checkmate,  in  two   moves!      You  can   come 
out,  boys.      They  're   harmless   as   suckin'  doves 


Saying  thus,  he  arose  and  stepped  from  behind 
the  covert  into  full  and  bold  view. 

The  boys  had  grasped  the  situation  as  quickly 
as  it  had  been  presented  to  them.  Neal's  first 
careful  shot  had  done  exactly  what  he  intended. 
It  severed  the  rope  squarely  in  two,  and  left  the 
four  men  on  the  upper  shelf,  cut  off  from  their 
rifles,  besides  throwing  the  fifth  —  and  most  dan 
gerous —  into  the  lake  and  out  of  the  rumpus. 

The  second  shot  disabled  the  right  arm  of  the 
sixth  man,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
make  use  of  any  of  the  firearms. 


THE    SUSPENDED   MAN    FELL    LIKE   A    LOG. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PHIL'S  AQUATICS.— RESCUE  OF  BRODIE. 

As  our  four  boys  came  out  from  their  hiding- 
place,  however,  the  desperadoes,  with  the  instinct 
of  badgers  at  bay,  put  on  a  momentary  fierce 
courage.  Drawing  their  revolvers,  they  fired  a 
fusillade  of  shots,  every  one  of  which  fell  short, 
by  reason  of  the  distance. 

Then  Neal  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
took  aim  again,  and  simultaneously  with  his  shot 
the  pistol  dropped  from  the  hand  of  one  of  the 
men.  A  cry  of  horrified  conviction  broke  from 
them  all,  and  they  screamed : 

11  We  give  in!  We  surrender!  For  God's  sake, 
don't  shoot!  " 

Without  lowering  his  rifle,  except  to  pump  in 
another  cartridge,  Neal  thundered  in  reply: 

11  Now,  every  man  jack  of  you,  throw  your 
pepper-boxes  into  the  lake!  I  '11  give  you  thirty 
seconds! 

There  was  but  one   instant's  hesitation;   then 
four  revolvers  in  quick  succession  splashed  into 
the  lake.     Even  the  man  with  the  wounded  hand 
had  stooped  and  tossed  over  his  fallen  pistol. 
269 


2/0  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

"Now,  Dave!"  said  Neal;  "you  look  after 
the  fellow  on  the  lower  ledge!  lie  shows  ani 
mation,  and  there  might  be  a  little  cussedness 
left  in  him!  I  'm  going  to  attend  to  Brodie! 
We  must  n't  let  him  drown!  Where  is  he?  Can 
you  see  him  ?  ' ' 

"  I  've  been  watching  him  !  "  cried  Phil.  "  He 
was  s\vimming  this  way  only  a  moment  ago !  I 
know  right  where  he  must  have  gone  down ! 
He  's  drowning!  Let  me  go,  Neal!  " 

Phil  had  thrown  off  his  jacket  and  laid  down 
his  gun,  and  was  now  struggling  to  remove  his 
boots. 

"Well,  go  quick,  then,  Phil;  if  you're  sure 
you  know  where  he  went  down,  and  think  you 
can  get  him,"  returned  Neal. 

Without  further  words  Phil  kicked  off  his 
boots,  threw  down  his  hat,  and  ran  rapidly  down 
the  hill  to  the  shore. 

With  a  dozen  flying  steps  along  the  edge  of 
the  water,  a  light  spring  to  a  shelving  rock,  then 
a  long,  curving  leap,  and  Phil  shot  head  foremost 
into  the  glassy  lake  and  toward  the  bottom. 

"  Watch  out  for  him,  Ken,  to  see  if  he  needs 
any  help!  "  cried  Neal.  "  Dave  and  I  can  attend 
to  these  fellows !  ' ' 

The  cause  of  this  immediate  tumult  —  the 
small  but  energetic  Mr.  Brodie  —  had  during  this 


PHIL'S    AQUATICS.— RESCUE    OF    BRODIE.    2/1 

time  been  undergoing  not  merely  a  change  of 
fortunes,  but  sufferings  of  both  mind  and  body 
that  were  most  agonizing. 

After  his  reluctant  header  into  the  lake, —  from 
which  he  rose  to  the  surface  chilled  and  confused, 
but  quite  uninjured, —  he  swam  aimlessly  for  a 
minute,  and  then  headed  directly  for  the  cliff  in 
front  of  him.  Reaching  there,  he  quickly  saw 
that  there  could  be  no  escape  that  way,  nor  even 
any  relief,  except  such  support  as  he  could  derive 
from  clutching  with  his  fingers  a  narrow  two-inch 
projection. 

Here,  half  strangled,  and  shivering  from  the 
icy  coldness  of  the  water,  he  hung,  until,  seeing 
the  inevitable  end  of  remaining  there,  he  let  go 
and  started  to  swim  toward  the  ridge  where  our 
boys  were  standing.  But  the  coldness  of  the 
water,  together,  perhaps,  with  the  weakening 
effects  of  his  late  debauch,  were  more  than  his 
powers  of  endurance  were  equal  to.  He  strug 
gled  on  in  gasping,  spasmodic  fashion,  neared 
the  shore,  tried  to  touch  bottom  with  his  toes, 
missed  it,  and  was  seized  with  a  cramp. 

His  bubbling  cry  was  unheard,  but  his  prog 
ress  had  been  noticed  by  Phil,  who  knew  where 
he  had  gone  down,  even  though  he  did  not  actu 
ally  see  him  sink. 

Phil  was  a  magnificent  swimmer,  and,  in  diving 


2;j  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

head  downward  ho  rightly  calculated  that  the 
cold  would  be  less  of  a  shock  than  if  he  wore  to 
enter  the  water  upright.  Nevertheless,  it  seemed 
to  pierce  through  almost  to  his  very  marrow,  and 
at  first  he  was  unable  to  open  his  eyes. 

Fortunately  the  water  was  not  extremely  deep 
at  this  point. 

His  plunge  and  downward  glide  carried  him  to 
the  bottom  at  a  distance  of  about  thirty  feet  from 
the  shore,  and  when  he  at  length  succeeded  in 
holding  his  eyes  open  he  found  he  could  see  dis 
tinctly. 

Brodie  was  on  the  bottom  only  a  few  feet  in 
front  of  him.  He  was  half  doubled  up.  his  eyes 
were  open  and  staring,  and  he  was  making  only 
faint,  mechanical  motions  with  his  hands.  It 
was  evident  that  he  had  become  strangled  and 
had  lost  consciousness. 

Another  stroke,  and  Phil  was  behind  him  and 
had  him  by  the  collar.  Then  doubling  himself 
up.  and  striking  the  ground  with  his  feet,  he 
gave  a  powerful  upward  push  and  slowly  rose  to 
the  surface. 

Ken  was  standing  on  the  rock  from  whence  he 
had  dived,  with  a  strained  and  anxious  look  in 
his  eyes,  and  seemed  just  on  the  point  of  plung 
ing  in,  when  Phil  called  out  in  a  strong  but  splut- 


HIIL  S    AQUATICS. —  RESCUE    OF    BRODIE.    273 

"  Don't  come  in!  I  've  got  him,  and  I  'm  all 
right!  Stay  there  and  help  me  haul  him  up  !  " 

His  burden  was  a  heavy  one,  and  he  was  numb 
with  cold,  but  it  did  not  take  him  very  long  to 
drag  the  passive  Brodie  within  reach  of  Ken's 
outstretched  arm,  and  both  were  quickly  lying 
upon  the  rock. 

Pausing  only  to  catch  his  breath,   Phil  said: 

'•We  must  roll  him!  He  isn't  dead  yet! 
We  can  bring  him  back,  if  we  work  hard  !  ' 

Quickly  acting  according  to  his  words,  Phil 
seized  the  inert  body  by  the  feet,  calling  to  Ken 
to  help  carry  him,  and  together  they  drew  him 
to  the  slope,  and  laid  him  with  his  feet  up  the 
hill  and  head  downward.  Then  turning  him 
upon  his  face,  Phil  began  to  work  over  him  with 
a  sort  of  pumping  action,  so  that  in  a  moment 
the  water  began  to  gush  from  his  lungs. 

That  Brodie  was  not  dead  became  evident  very 
quickly;  for,  after  ejecting  a  great  quantity  of 
water,  there  came,  in  a  few  minutes,  a  rattling 

o 

gurgle.  Another  gush  of  water,  then  a  louder 
groan, —  evidently  from  the  pain  in  his  lungs, — 
and  soon  the  man  was  almost  shrieking  in  his 
agony. 

This  was  over  very  soon  though,  and  Mr. 
Brodie  was  able  to  breathe  quite  naturally,  and 
in  a  little  while  longer  was  able  to  speak. 


2/4  THE    1HG-IIOKX    TREASURE. 

Neal  and  Dave  meanwhile  liad  other  things  to 
do  than  notice  the  progress  of  this  experiment. 

As  Ken  was  following;  Phil  clown  to  the  water's 
edge,  Neal  spoke  to  Dave,  saying: 

"  Now  what  are  we  going  to  do  with  the  fel 
low  on  the  lower  ledge?  lie's  hurt, —  but  not 
badly, —  and  it  '11  need  one  man  to  watch  him  as 
long  as  he  's  within  reach  of  the  guns.  We  can't 
pull  him  up,  or  go  down  to  him,  because  we  've 
got  no  rope.  Shall  we  make  him  throw  all  the 
guns  into  the  lake?  " 

"  I  believe  that  's  the  surest  and  simplest  way 
of  keeping  out  of  trouble,"  said  Dave.  "I 
think  we  needn't  feel  badly  about  destroying 
property.  We  would  have  to  keep  the  guns 
away  from  them  as  long  as  they  're  our  prisoners, 
and  we  neither  want  the  weapons  ourselves,  nor 
ought  to  be  bothered  with  carrying  them  about 
or  watching  them.  Yes,  let  's  make  him  do 
it!" 

"All  right,"  returned  Neal.  "We'll  move 
up  nearer,  so  as  to  be  within  easy  speaking  dis 
tance." 

Dave  paused  one  moment  to  look  anxiously 
toward  the  water  where  Phil  had  vanished,  but 
just  then  that  young  man's  head  appeared  above 
the  surface,  and,  as  his  call  to  Ken  was  reassuring, 
Dave  hurried  along  after  Neal. 


PHII/S    AQUATICS. RESCUE    OF    I5RODIE.    275 

When  within  about  seventy  or  eighty  feet  of 
the  cliff,  Ncal  paused  and  gave  the  entire  group 
of  shamefaced,  mean-looking  wretches  a  con 
temptuous  scrutiny. 

Then  he  spoke,  saying: 

''Guess  you  fellows  ain't  much  used  to  the 
ways  of  good  society.  You  ought  to  've  known 
it  's  the  proper  thing  when  you  go  to  visit  folks 
of  our  standing,  to  send  word  ahead  that  you  're 
coming.  It  's  nicer  to  go  to  the  front  door, 
too.  If  you  'd  done  that,  we  'd  prob'ly  just 
told  you  we  wasn't  receivin'  to-day,  and  we  'd 
be  glad  to  have  you  come  'round  this  time  next 
year,  or  the  year  after.  Then,  you  see,  there 
would  n't  been  any  harm  done.  You  six  gents 
would  have  just  turned  round  and  had  a  deuce 
of  a  foot-race  down  the  trail  (to  work  off  your 
embarrassment),  and  we  'd  have  kept  right  along 
at  our  work. 

"  Of  course,  you  didn't  mean  any  harm  by 
coming  upon  us  this  way;  but,  you  see,  you 
startled  us;  and  you  know  how  apt  a  man  is  to 
give  his  mule  the  lash  when  he  stumbles.  Well, 
it  's  too  bad.  I  guess  it  's  the  v\\\\£- driver  that 
needs  the  lashing  more  than  the  animals,  and 
when  the  boys  get  some  of  the  water  pumped  out 
of  your  capt'n,  I  've  got  to  talk  to  him  a  little. 

11  Now,    please    stay    right    where    you    are    a 


2^6  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

while  longer,  and  then  we  '11  try  and  fix  you  out 
proper.  I  say,  there!  Air.  Joseph  Helmer!" 

Neal  thus  addressed  the  man  on  the  lower 
ledge. 

"  I  believe  that  's  the  name  you  owned  up  to 
the  other  day.  There  was  a  time,  years  ago, 
when  you  went  by  another  one  —  Pete  Simpson. 
Does  your  memory  stretch  far  enough  back  for 
that,  or  have  you  had  so  many  of  'em  since,  that 
you  can't  straighten  'em  out?  " 

This  speech  had  a  curious  effect  upon  the 
ruffian,  who  started  and  trembled  so  that  he 
came  near  to  falling  off  the  ledge  into  the  water; 
but  he  managed  to  stammer,  with  ashen  lips: 

"  What  d'  ye  mean?  I  ain't  never  had  no  other 
name  than  Helmer." 

"  I  did  n't  s'pose  you  'd  remember  it;  it  's  so 
long  ago.  But  my  memory  was  always  pretty 
fair,  and  it  's  been  still  better  since  the  fall  when 
I  lived  up  near  Eureka.  We  '11  have  a  good  chat 
about  that  by  and  by. 

"What  I  want  you  to  do  now  is  to  reach 
for  those  rifles  and  drop  every  one  of  'em  into 
the  lake.  Do  it  quick,  and  look  pleasant  while 
you're  doing  it!  Another  thing:  you  better 
grab  each  one  of  them  near  the  muzzle!  They 
may  be  loaded,  and  if  you  fool  with  the  trigger, 
you  '11  only  make  yourself  appear  silly!  Come, 


PIIII.'S    AQUATICS. —  RESCUE    OF    liRODIE.    2// 

hurry  up!  My  boys  here  are  liable  to  get  im 
patient,  and  I  can't  be  responsible  for  'em! 

Neal  hereupon  motioned  to  Dave,  and  both 
brought  their  guns  to  bear  upon  the  shrinking 
wretch,  who  gasped  : 

''Don't  fire!  Don't  shoot!  I'm  hit  already! 
I  '11  throw  the  guns  over!  " 

"You  ain't  much  hurt!"  returned  Neal. 
"Talk  about  being  hit!  You  ought  to  've  seen 
me  after  the  '  blow-up  '  over  at  Eureka!  Come, 
move  lively!  It  makes  me  nervous  when  I  think 
about  that  time,  and  my  gun  might  go  off 
again ! 

Trembling  and  moaning,  probably  from  both 
fear  and  pain,  Helmer  crept  to  the  rifles,  and, 
taking  them  with  his  left  hand,  one  by  one,  tossed 
them  into  the  lake. 

"That's  right!"  said  Neal.  "Things  are 
getting  into  real  tidy  shape.  Now,  Dave,  there  's 
one  thing  more  that  's  got  to  be  done.  One  of 
us  will  have  to  go  to  camp  and  get  a  rope  to  haul 
him  up  with.  I  guess  it  's  best  for  me  to  stay 
here;  so  you  better  go.  After  that  we  can  take 
'em  all  into  custody  in  good  order.  Get  plenty 
of  rope!  "  and  he  looked  meaningly  at  Dave,  who 
nodded  and  started  for  the  camp  at  a  rapid  pace. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

DRESS  PARADE.— THE  SHERIFF. 

It  did  not  take  Dave  very  long  to  make  the 
trip  to  and  from  camp;  and  during  the  time  he 
was  away  there  was  no  change  in  the  situation. 

Neal,  after  stating  in  emphatic  terms  to  the 
five  men  over  whom  he  stood  guard  that  he  ex 
pected  them  to  remain  where  they  were,  and  that 
the  first  man  who  tried  to  move  away  would  get 
into  serious  trouble,  walked  along  the  ridge  to  a 
point  where  he  could  see  and  converse  with  Phil 
and  Ken  without  relaxing  his  watch  over  the 
prisoners. 

By  this  time  Brodie  was  sitting  up,  and  the 
boys  had  ceased  their  work  of  restoration  ;  as  it 
now  seemed  only  a  matter  of  time  when  the  man 
would  fully  recover  himself. 

He  was  a  pitiable-looking  object,  though;  and 
as  Neal  stood  looking  clown  from  above  at  the 
pale,  shivering,  and  drooping  creature,  he  could 
not  find  it  in  his  heart  to  fling  him  the  bitter 
jibes  that  rose  to  his  lips.  He  merely  remarked: 

"Well,  Phil,  my  boy,  I  hope  Brodie  will  be 
278 


PRFSS    PARAPH. THE    SHERIFF.  2/Q 

able  to  appreciate  the  good  job  you  've  done  for 
him.  I  think,  now,  you  'd  better  wring  out  your 
own  clothes  and  put  on  your  jacket.  I  don't 
s'posc  you  're  feeling  very  warm  and  comfort 
able." 

"  O,  I  'm  all  right!  "  returned  Phil.  "  1  've 
had  plenty  of  good,  lively  exercise  since  I  came 
ashore,  and  I  feel  first  rate.  The  dry  jacket  and 
shoes  will  come  in  handy  now,  though!  " 

By  the  time  Dave  reached  them  with  the  rope, 
the  boys  had  returned  to  the  ridge  and  picked  up 
their  rifles,  and  were  again  ready  for  active  busi 
ness. 

A  brief  consultation  was  held  as  to  what  their 
line  of  action  ought  to  be,  and  Ncal  concluded 
by  saying: 

"  We  must  make  the  rascals  do  the  work  that 
naturally  belongs  to  them.  We  '11  give  them  a 
rope,  and  tell  them  to  hoist  Helmcr  up  to  where 
they  are.  Then  we  '11  march  the  whole  squad  of 
'em  to  camp.  I  'm  sure  we  don't  want  'cm  there, 
and  I  don't  know  yet  what  to  do  with  'em.  It 
makes  me  mad  to  think  of  being  bothered  with 
the  low-down  rubbish,  but  we  '11  think  up  some 
way  of  getting  rid  of  the  outfit  in  quick  time.  I 
bet  they  '11  think  over  it  a  good  while  before  they 
feel  ready  to  come  again."  Then  he  called  out 
in  a  louder  voice : 


28O  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

((  Hello,  there,  Brodic!  You  '11  have  to  come 
up  the  hill !  We  want  you  where  we  can  keep 
you  in  sight,  along  with  the  rest  of  your  friends.  " 

Brodie  made  some  reply,  the  words  of  which 
could  not  be  distinguished ;  but  his  manner 
seemed  humble  and  passive  enough,  for  he  arose 
slowly  to  his  feet,  and  began  a  weak  and  trem 
bling  ascent  of  the  slight  hill. 

"  Now,  Ken,  I  think  you  had  better  stay  here 
and  keep  his  mind  out  of  mischief.  He  don't 
look  a  bit  dangerous,  but  we  may  as  well  be  on 
the  safe  side.  The  rest  of  us  will  go  over  and 
attend  to  the  gang.  By  the  way.  Did  you  take 
his  pistol  awray  from  him?  " 

"  Yes.  Here  it  is!  I  found  it  while  we  were 
rolling  him,"  returned  Phil. 

"All  right !  I  guess  you  '11  have  an  easy  enough 
job,  Ken!  Come,  boys! 

The  three  men  moved  over  to  the  cliff,  where 
the  men  were  waiting  in  sullen  silence. 

When  they  reached  the  place  of  Neal  and 
Dave's  previous  stand,  Neal  called  out: 

"  I  want  one  of  you  fellows  to  come  and  get 
this  rope ! 

There  was  a  brief  hesitancy,  as  none  of  the 
party  seemed  to  understand  what  sort  of  plans 
were  being  made.  Neal  then  spoke  again,  — this 
time  sharply : 


DRESS    PARADE. THE    SIIERIFE.  281 

"  Come!  Move  along!  We  want  you  to  pull 
Helmer  up  to  where  the  rest  of  you  are! 

This  seemed  to  have  a  reassuring  effect,  for 
one  of  them,  no  longer  believing  that  any  trick 
was  intended,  came  along  the  shelf  toward  Dave, 
who  met  him  and  handed  him  a  coil  of  rope. 

''Now,  then,"  said  Neal,  in   his    commanding 

o 

tone,  "  I  want  you  to  let  the  line  down  to  where 
Helmer  is;  three  of  you  hang  on  to  it,  and  one 
man  slip  clown  to  where  Helmer  is  and  make  the 
end  fast  around  him,  so  that  he  can  be  hauled 
up.  He  's  hurt,  and  won't  be  able  to  make  a 
very  good  hitch  with  one  hand." 

The  reasonableness  of  this  order  seemed  so 
plain  that  it  was  carried  out  at  once,  and  with 
out  any  protests. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  man  had  slid  down  the  rope 
and  made  it  fast  around  Helmer,  waiting  below 

o 

until  that  troubled-looking  person  was  safely 
landed  upon  the  upper  shelf,  after  which  he,  in 
turn,  was  assisted  to  return. 

"  That  's  very  well  clone,"  said  Neal.  "  Now 
you  can  all  march  right  down  this  way  for  further 
instructions." 

This  order  also  was  obeyed  at  once,  and  all  five 
of  the  men  trooped  down  in  single  file  and  stood 
in  front  of  the  boys. 
"Maybe  it  won't  seem  very  neighborly,  but  we  '11 


282  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

have  to  go  through  the  ceremony  now  of  tying 
your  hands  before  we  start  for  camp,"  resumed 
Ncal.  ''We've  had  all  the  bother  and  delay 
from  you  fellows  that  we  can  stand,  and  we  're 
going  to  take  no  chances  on  any  more  of  it,  now 
that  we  Ve  got  you  rounded  up  proper." 

"  Not  much,  you  won't."  "  We  ain't  goin' 
to  be  tied,"  came  from  two  or  three  of  them  at 
once. 

"Oh!  You  won't  let  us?  Give  me  your 
gun,  Dave!  Take  your  rope  and  step  behind 
that  last  man  there!  Now,  then,  Willie,  or  what 
ever  your  borrowed  name  is,  put  your  hands  be 
hind  you !  The  first  man  who  tries  to  make  a 
row  won't  find  time  to  spread  the  mutiny!" 
saying  which,  he  raised  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
and  was  followed  by  Phil. 

It  is  needless  to  say  there  was  no  attempt  at 
resistance,  and  Dave  quickly  tied  the  hands  of 
three  of  the  men  behind  their  backs. 

(<  We  won't  tie  Helmer  and  the  other  man 
that  's  hurt,"  said  Neal.  "  Come  to  think  of  it, 
let  's  see  your  hand,"  he  said,  turning  to  trie 
burly  ruffian  whom  he  had  disarmed  so  neatly 
while  he  was  trying  his  pistol-practice  upon  the 
boys. 

The  man  extended  his  hand,  which  was 
wrapped  up  in  a  dirty  red  cotton  handkerchief, 


DRESS    PARADE. —  THE    SHERIFF.  283 

and  began  carefully,  and  with  many  grimaces  of 
pain,  to  undo  the  bandage. 

When  he  had  removed  the  rag,  Neal  looked 
the  hand  all  over  carefully,  and  then  remarked: 

"  Well,  you  're  in  luck,  and  you  need  n't  make 
a  lot  of  fuss  over  that  hand.  It  's  badly  bruised 
and  the  flesh  torn,  that  's  all.  The  ball  must 
have  struck  the  pistol  and  glanced.  The  bones 
ain't  injured,  and  your  fist  will  be  as  good  as 
new  in  a  day  or  two.  I  guess  you  'd  better  tie 
him  too,  Dave.  That  makes  four.  We  '11  let 
Helmer  and  Brodie  go  without  till  we  get  to 
camp.  If  we're  all  ready,  let's  move!  You 
lead,  Dave!  We  '11  follow  !  " 

Ken  and  Brodie  fell  into  the  line  of  march,  as 
it  reached  them,  Ken  in  the  lead  with  Dave,  and 
Brodie  in  the  rear  watched  over  by  Phil,  and  so 
the  procession  wended  its  way  toward  camp. 

The  bridge  wTas  safely  crossed,  and  the  camp 
was  neared  within  a  reasonable  length  of  time 
without  further  mishap  or  delay. 

They  had  reached  the  edge  of  the  clear  space 
'within  which  the  cabin  stood,  \vhen  Dave  sud 
denly  stopped  and  held  up  his  hand,  calling 
out : 

"  Hullo,  here!  Is  this  another  squad  of  the 
same  outfit  ?  " 

He  half  raised  his   rifle  to  his  shoulder,  as  two 


284  THE    BIG -HORN    TREASURE. 

men  arose  from  the  bench   beside  the   cabin  door 
and  stood  quietly  waiting  for  them  to  approach. 

They  were  strangers  to  Dave,  and  while  their 
manner  was  not  calculated  to  arouse  suspicions 
of  unfriendliness,  their  mere  presence  seemed, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  call  for  a  hasty 
explanation. 

Suddenly,  however,  Neal  spoke,  saying  hur 
riedly  : 

"Put  down  your  gun,  Dave!  It's  Archie 
Campbell!  "  Then,  without  the  least  showing  of 
excitement,  he  added  : 

"  Move  along  with  the  company.  This  ain't 
a  first-class  halting-place  here  in  the  brush. 
When  we  get  to  the  house  we  will  detail  some 
body  for  guard-duty,  and  then  we  can  palaver." 

So  the  file  of  ten  men  marched  in  an  orderly 
and  business-like  procession  across  the  clearing 
to  the  house,  until,  as  they  confronted  the  new 
arrivals,  Neal  called,  "Halt!"  Then,  when  all 
came  to  a  standstill,  he  added: 

"  Dave,  you  and  Phil  look  after  the  prisoners 
for  a  few  minutes.  Well!  Archie  old  man,  how 
are  you,  and  what  sort  of  a  trip  did  you  have? 
This  is  the  sheriff, —  Mr.  Harvey,  —  ain't  it? 
How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Harvey?" 

This  greeting  was  in  Neal's  ordinary  hearty 
manner,  and  with  no  suggestion  in  the  tone  of 


DRESS    PARADE. —  THE    SIIERIEE.  285 

his  voice  that  there  was  anything  extraordinary 
in  thus  welcoming  his  friends  in  the  guise  of  a 
conquering  chieftain,  and  at  the  head  of  a  com 
pany  of  his  overthrown  and  shackled  enemies. 

As  he  advanced  to  Archie  with  outstretched 
hand,  he  saw  that  his  friend  was  shaking  with 
suppressed  laughter;  while  the  sheriff,  as  his  eyes 
ranged  back  and  forth  from  the  tall  mountaineer 
to  the  group  behind  him,  was  evidently  scrutin 
izing  the  entire  scene  from  the  standpoint  of  an 
enthusiastic  and  competent  critic. 

"  Howd'y  do,  Neal?  "  exclaimed  Archie.  "  I 
beg  pardon  for  laughing,  but  it  almost  seems  as 
if  you  'd  been  getting  up  a  dress-parade  for  our 
special  benefit.  It  's  a  great  catch  you  've  made, 
though,  and  an  elegant  clean  job!  Don't  you 
think  so,  Bob?  You  understand  the  fine  points 
of  this  kind  of  work! 

By  this  time  Harvey  was  shaking  hands  with 
Neal, —  which  he  did  with  evidences  of  the 
keenest  admiration  and  regard. 

"  How  did  you  do  it  so  smooth  and  sleek?  " 
he  asked.  "  It  's  just  beautiful!  I  never  did  as 
neat  a  thing  myself,  and  it  's  my  regular  line  of 
business,  too!  Can't  you  tell  us  the  whole 
story?  "  he  asked  in  an  eager  voice. 

"  O  yes.  Ken  you  tell  the  yarn.  Phil,  you 
better  go  and  put  on  some  dry  clothes,  and  hunt 


286  TIIK  BIG-HORN  TREASURE. 

up  a  woolen  shirt  and  pair  of  trousers  for  Brodie, 
too.  There  's  some  old  ones  of  mine  in  the 
house.  Dave,  you  stand  watch  a  while  longer, 
until  I  examine  Helmer's  arm,  and  then  we  '11 
inve  you  a  relief. ' 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

NEAL'S    NARRATIVE.— THE    SENTENCE    OF 
JUSTICE. 

Neal  turned  to  Helmcr  and  motioned  to  him 
to  come  nearer. 

"  Now,  then,  let  's  see  if  you  can  move  your 
arm?  "  he  said  to  the  wounded  man. 

Helmer  made  a  laborious  effort,  evidently  ac 
companied  by  the  most  severe  pain,  for  his  face 
took  on  changing  and  varied  distortions;  but  the 
result  showed  that  the  arm  was  not  injured  be 
yond  repair,  for  he  was  able  to  move  it  slightly, 
even  down  to  the  fingers. 

"I  guess  it  might  be  worse,"  said  Neal. 
"We  '11  look  at  it." 

He  unbuttoned  the  shirt-sleeve  and  rolled  it 
up  clear  to  the  shoulder, —  where  he  found  the 
wound  to  be. 

Then  he  procured  a  basin  of  water  and  care 
fully  washed  out  the  wound,  saying,  as  its  extent 
and  character  gradually  became  plain : 

"  It  '11  take  you  more  than  a  day  or  two  to  get 
over  it,  but  it  ain't  serious.  The  ball  made  a 
regular  groove  in  the  bone,  but  the  shoulder- 
289 


2QO  THE    Bid -HORN    TREASURE. 

joint  is  all  right,  and  the  thing  will  mend  with 
time  and  care.  I  've  got  something  that  '11  make 
a  good  dressing  for  it." 

After  applying  his  lotion  and  bandaging  the 
wounded  shoulder,  he  dismissed  his  patient, 
pointing  out  a  bench  upon  which  he  might  re 
cline;  and  Helmer  was  not  slow  in  availing 
himself  of  this  permission. 

By  this  time  Ken  had  finished  his  account  of 
the  episode,  and  Phil  had  effected  the  change 
Neal  recommended,  including  that  for  Brodie; 
(but  he  had  been  very  careful  not  to  lose  sight 
of  this  uncertain  individual  during  his  toilet 
process). 

Neal  now  found  time  to  devote  more  of  his 
attention  to  the  guests. 

"  Well,  Archie,"  he  said,  "  I  'm  not  only  glad 
to  see  you,  but  we  're  all  mighty  glad  you 
brought  along  so  good  a  man  as  Mr.  Harvey.  I 
think  I  'm  safe  in  saying  that  neither  of  you  will 
be  sorry  for  coming.  We  '11  go  over  the  details 
of  the  matter  when  we  're  a  little  more  free  from 
the  eyes  and  ears  of  folks  who  can't  sympathize 
with  us,"  and  he  looked  around  at  their  six  pris 
oners. 

"Yes,"  returned  Archie,  <k  I  knew  you  'd  be 
glad  to  have  Bob.  When  I  proposed  it  to  him 
he  said  '  Yes  '  right  off,  as  he  has  a  first-class 


NEAL'S  NARRATIVK.  291 

deputy  to  take  care  of  things  for  him.  Say! 
This  sky-parlor  of  yours  up  here  is  a  great  place, 
ain't  it?  " 

Neal  bent  down  and  said  in  a  tone  too  low  for 
the  prisoners  to  hear: 

"When  we've  shown  you  all  the  sights, 
you  '11  think  it  's  the  greatest  place  you  ever  saw." 

Then,  raising  his  voice  to  its  customary  pitch, 
he  said : 

"  I  've  got  a  little  yarn  of  my  own  that  I  want 
to  spin  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  audience.  It's 
a  kind  of  funny  story,  and  you  might  as  well  all 
get  ready  to  laugh.  I  believe  Ken  is  the  only  one 
that's  heard  it,  unless,  maybe,  Dave  —  and  I 
don't  remember  ever  telling  even  him.  By  the 
way!  Here,  Dave!  You  can  slacken  up  on  your 
guard-duty,  and  come  and  sit  down  with  the  rest 
of  us.  We  can  all  be  on  guard  together  now. 

"  Excuse  me,  Dave,  for  almost  forgetting 
that  you  've  not  met  our  friends  from  Gunnison. 
Archie,  this  is  our  boy,  Dave  Ballard !  Dave, 
this  is  Mr.  Bob  Harvey,  the  sheriff!  " 

After  this  informal  ceremony  was  over,  Neal 
began  with  his  story;  relating  in  a  half-humorous 
way  and  with  no  trace  of  excitement,  the  full  de 
tails  of  the  adventure  he  had  told  to  Ken  the  day 
that  they  \vere  walking  together  down  the  trail. 

When   he  had  finished,  he    paused   for   a   mo- 


2 Q2  THE    1 5 1  ( ;  -  1 1  ( )  KX    T K E AS  U  RE . 

ment;  then  resumed,  almost  as  though  he  were 
talking  to  himself : 

"  I  've  made  a  curious  and  interest  in'  discov 
ery  to-day.  I  ain't  yet  been  quite  able  to  make 
up  my  mind  whether  it  's  a  pleasant  discovery  or 
not.  The  two  fellows  who  did  that  low-down, 
mean  job  are  right  here  in  this  crowd.  At  that 
time  they  went  by  the  names  of  Dick  Bender  and 
Pete  Simpson. 

"That's  Pete  laid  out  there  with  a  hole  in 
his  shoulder;  and  here  's  Mr.  Dick  Bender, 
who  's  lately  been  piling  up  insult  and  ingrati 
tude  on  top  of  the  old  injury."  He  pointed  at 
the  trembling  and  shrinking  Broclie.  "It's  a 
pretty  bad  case,  gentlemen.  What  do  you  think 
ought  to  be  done?  " 

"Well!"  came  with  explosive  force  from 
Harvey;  "  I  'm  sheriff,  and  s' posed  to  be  guar 
dian  of  the  peace,  and  of  the  majesty  of  the  law; 
but  this  here  's  a  case  that,  maybe,  don't  call  for 
court  practice!  I  reckon  the  sheriff  had  better 
go  back  to  Gunnison  alone, —  because  he  's  got 
very  important  business  there, —  and  let  the 
mountain  law  of  '  eternal  vigilance  '  take  its 
course!  " 

"  Do  whatever  you've  a  mind  to,  Neal.  There's 
nobody  here  but  what '11  approve  of  it,"  said 
Archie. 


NEAL'S  NARRATIVE.  293 

Neal  sat  in  silence  for  a  few  minutes,  then 
spoke  slowly,  and  in  a  low  voice: 

"  For  years  I  've  thought  it  would  give  me  a 
lot  of  pleasure  to  kill  these  men;  but  since  this 
morning  I  've  had  a  rather  funny  change  of  heart. 

"  In  the  first  place,  you  see,  I  've  already  Jiad 
about  as  much  revenge  as  a  reasonable  man  ought 
to  need.  One  of  'em  's  shot  and  laid  up,  and 
the  other  one  has  had  an  hour  or  two  of  about 
as  bad  living  as  a  man  could  have;  and,  besides, 
he  's  been  as  far  over  the  border-line  into  the 
other  world  as  any  one  ever  got,  withoitt  staying 
there.  .  .  . 

"The  idea  's  been  taking  strong  hold  of  me 
since  our  procession  started  for  camp,  a  little 
while  ago,  that  there  's  no  telling  in  this  world 
how7  far  a  man's  bringing  up,  and  the  whirl  of 
life,  are  responsible  for  his  character. 

k<  Naturally,  we  despise  these  fellows  for  their 
sneaking,  low-dowrn  ways;  but  maybe,  in  the  way 
they  were  raised,  or  in  the  hard  luck  they  've 
had,  they  ain't  had  an  even  start  with  the  rest 
of  us,  or  a  real  fair  show. 

"  The  more  I  think  about  it,  the  more  it  seems 
to  me  that  according  to  a  man's  run  of  hardship 
or  bad  luck,  the  world  might  make  most  any 
kind  of  character  out  of  most  any  man.  Any 
way,  —  with  the  permission  of  all  you  people 


294  THK    Bid -HORN    TREASURE. 

('specially  of  the  sheriff),  —  I'm  going  to  give 
'em  a  show  this  time,  and  let  'em  all  go  free." 

For  a  little  while  everybody  seemed  to  be 
stricken  dumb  by  Neal's  declaration. 

Harvey  was  the  first  one  to  speak,  and  he  said  : 

"Well!  Neal,  the  idea  that  strikes  me  the 
hardest  is,  that  these  fellows  have  had  wonderful 
big  luck  in  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  man  like 
you.  It  ain't  possible  for  me  to  look  at  the  mat 
ter  just  as  you  do;  and  really,  I  s'pose  it  's  my 
duty  —  under  the  law  —  to  run  these  men  in  and 
let  'em  have  the  hottest  stuff  the  court  can  give 
'em.  But  .  .  .  they're  your  prisoners,  not 
mine.  I  won't  interfere.  Do  what  you  please. 
.  .  .  Besides,  although  I  've  generally  got  no 
patience  with  professional  criminals,  there  's  lots 
of  truth  in  what  you  say." 

The  latter  portion  of  the  talk  had  been  carried 

on  in  an  undertone,  so  that  the  prisoners, who 

were  grouped  together  at  a  little  distance  away, 
—  could  not  hear. 

"  I  s'pose  our  three  boys  here  have  a  right 
to  say  something  about  this  matter,"  said  Neal 
at  length.  "  Let  's  have  it,  boys!  What  's  your 
judgment?  " 

"  Your  plan  is  just  what  I  would  myself  have 
proposed,"  whispered  Ken  eagerly.  "Don't 
you  think  the  same,  Phil?" 


NEAL'S  NARRATIVK.  295 

"  Well,  yes,"  returned  Phil.  "  So  far  as  I  'm 
concerned,  I  feel  willing  to  let  them  off  with  what 
they  've  already  had.  Brodie  has  had  every  bit 
of  wickedness  taken  out  of  him  this  morning- — for 
an  hour  at  least.  I  never  saw  anybody  suffer 
more  than  he  did,  and  I  believe  he  '11  not  only 
remember  it,  but  he  won't  feel  so  very  ugly  to 
wards  us,  either.  Yes,  let's  turn  them  loose." 

"  What  's  your  opinion,  Dave?  "   asked   Neal. 

''(3,  I'm  with  you,  Neal,"  replied  Dave. 
"  You  're  really  the  one  to  decide  it,  because  it 's 
a  thing  of  long  standing  and  greater  injury.  So 
far,  though,  as  my  opinion  goes,  I  believe  it 
might  do  the  men  more  good  to  turn  them  away 
without  any  further  punishment,  than  to  give 
them  over  to  the  law." 

lt  Thank  you,  boys!  It  makes  me  feel  a  little 
more  certain  of  myself,  to  get  your  indorsement,  " 
said  Neal.  "  Now,  as  long  as  we  've  concluded 
to  send  'em  away,  I  s'pose  there  's  no  need  of 
keeping  ourselves  in  an  uncomfortable  state  of 
mind  by  having  these  fellows  around  here.  Let  's 
get  the  thing  over  with,  and  then  we  can  move 
along  about  our  business.  Hey,  there,  Brodie! 
Come  here!  I  want  to  talk  to  you!  "  he  called 
in  a  louder  tone. 

With  the  startled  and  trembling  air  of  a  man 
who  awaited  the  sentence  of  death,  Brodie  tot- 


296  THE    1510-  HORN    TRKASUKK. 

tered  slowly  toward  the  group  of  judges,  and 
stood  looking  in  an  almost  appealing  way  from 
one  to  the  other. 

"  Have  you  got  anything  to  say  for  yourself?  " 
asked  Neal. 

The  shock  of  combined  physical  suffering  and 
terror  which  Brodie  had  undergone  had  wrought 
a  wonderful  change  in  the  man's  countenance  and 
general  air.  His  face  had  lost  its  mean,  animal- 

o 

like  look,  and  might  very  well  have  inspired 
mercy  in  any  but  a  judge  of  iron  inflexibility. 
He  started  to  speak,  stammered,  and  broke 
down,  tried  again,  and  finally  managed  to  say, 
thickly : 

"What  's  the  use?  Talkin'  ain't  goin'  to  do 
us  no  good. " 

"  It  might  depend  on  the  kind  of  talk,"  re 
plied  Neal.  "  Talk  has  done  a  heap  of  things  in 
this  world.  Now,  just  to  get  your  idea  of  things, 
I  'd  like  to  have  you  tell  us  what  you  'd  do, 
s'posing  you  were  in  our  place  and  we  in  yours? 
You  'd  make  pretty  short  work,  would  n't  you?" 

Brodie's  face  dropped,  and  his  lips  twitched 
nervously.  He  made  no  reply  for  a  few  mo 
ments,  but  at  length  answered,  slowly: 

"  It  might  depend  on  whether  we  'd  been  git- 
tin'  much  likker. " 

Then    with    a    little    more    energy,    and    with 


NEAL'S  NARRATIVE.  297 

something    like    genuineness    in    his    manner,    he 
began  to  talk  eagerly. 

"When  I  done  the  theayter-play  act, —  bein' 
sick  on  the  trail, —  I  'd  no  idee  this  here  was  your 
camp,  Mr.  Mclnncs.  I  've  allus  bin  'shamed  o' 
that  blowm'-up  job,  an'  I  wuz  glad  ye  come  out 
of  it  good  as  ye  did.  When  I  fust  rec'nized  ye, 
I  sort  o'  weakened  on  this  bizness,  and  thought 
I  'd  just  sneak  away  and  drop  it  right  there;  but 
after  I  'd  listened  to  you  fellers  talk,  an'  tumbled 
to  the  size  of  the  bonanza  ye  had, —  the  assays, 
ye  know,  an'  all  that, —  my  meanness  all  come 
back,  an'  I  just  said  to  myself,  I  'cl  put  up  a 
scheme  to  make  ye  divvy  with  us. 

"Well,"  he  continued,  after  drawing  a  long 
breath,  "  when  ye  sprung  the  '  royal  flush'  on  us 
and  give  us  the  horse-laugh  clown  to  Gunnison, 
we  wus  all  so  mad  that  we  didn't  think  o'  much 
else  than  gittin'  revenge,  an'  of  course  the  bad 
whisky  made  it  worse.  So  we  come  up  here, — 
an'  you  've  done  us  up  slick  an'  brown.  .  .  . 

"  Mebbe  it  's  jest  as  well.  I  ain't  never  bin  no 
good  to  myself  nor  nobody  else,  an'  I  'm  tired  o' 
bein'  a  tough  an'  outlaw.  If  ye  're  goin'togive 
us  '  vigilante  '  justice,  I  hope  ye  '11  let  us  have 
it  military-like.  It's  awful  to  be  hung!"  and 
the  poor  wretch's  face  took  on  a  look  of  horror. 

"See  here,    Dick!"  said    Neal.       "If  we   let 


298  THE  UK; -HORN  TREASURE. 

you  fellows  all  go,  will  you  try  and  behave  your 
self  hereafter,  and  try  to  get  the  rest  of  your 
crowd  to  do  the  same?  " 

4 'What?"  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  of  pitiful 
wonderment.  "  Are  ye  talkin'  'bout  turnin'  us 
loose?  " 

"Yes.  That  is,  if  it's  worth  while.  We 
want  to  know,  though,  whether  you  can  stand 
that  kind  of  good  luck.  That  's  the  idea." 

"  Mr.  Mclnnes,"  said  Brodie  (or  Bender)  ear 
nestly,  "if  ye  do  it,  I  swear  I'll  do  my  very 
best.  I  '11  go  to  work  like  a  man,  and  if  I  can 
keep  clear  o'  the  likker  I  '11  be  able  to  make  a  go 
of  it.  I  '11  do  all  I  can  to  brace  the  other  fel 
lers  up,  too. " 

"I'm  going  to  take  you  on  that  promise," 
said  Neal,  heartily.  "  Dave,  you  fix  up  a  sack 
of  grub,  to  last  'em  till  they  can  make  some 
other  camp,  and  I  '11  untie  their  hands. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Harvey,"  he  said,  turning  to  the 
sheriff,  "  after  thanking  you  for  your  kindness,  I 
feel  as  though  it  's  proper  to  turn  these  men 
over  to  you  for  whatever  parting  advice  you 
want  to  give  'em." 

"  I  've  not  much  to  say!  "  said  Harvey  in  a 
clear  ringing  voice.  "  Only  this !  You  fellows 
must  understand  this  is  all  Mr.  Mclnnes's  doing. 
I  'm  acting  on  the  principle  that  you  're  not  my 


NEAL  S    NARRATIVE.  299 

prisoners  at  all!  You  've  all  heard  what  's  been 
said,  and  what  Broclie  has  promised  for  you. 
Now,  if  there  's  a  spark  of  manliness  in  your 
hearts,  you  '11  all  be  thankful  for  getting  better 
treatment  than  you  deserve,  and  act  on  the 
square  after  this.  I  don't  believe  there  's  an 
other  man  in  Colorado  who  'd  give  you  the  deal 
you  're  getting  from  Ncal  Mclnnes.  I  only  hope 
you  '11  try  and  remember  it.  That  's  all! 

Nothing  more  was  said  until  Dave  came  from 
the  cabin  with  a  bag  well  filled  with  provisions; 
bv  which  time  Ncal  had  finished  untyintr  the 

*  J          o 

prisoners,  and  then  he  spoke  again,  saying: 

"  Here  's  a  bag  of  eatables,  Dick,  and  here  's  a 
strap  to  pack  it  with;  you  can  take  turn-about 
amongst  you  for  that.  Now,  I  guess  none  of  us 
care  about  visiting  any  longer,  and  we  've  got 
other  business  on  hand,  so  you  might  as  well  say 
'good-by.'  The  trail's  open.  Good  luck  to 
you  ! 

"Good-by!"  returned  Brodie.  "Same  to 
you !  ' '  and  the  salutation  was  repeated  by  one 
other  voice.  The  rest  seemed  too  bewildered 
or  too  sullen  to  reply,  but  walked  silently  away 
toward  the  trail,  down  wrhich  they  were  seen  by 
their  watchers  to  proceed  in  quiet  and  orderly  file. 
When  the  last  of  the  six  men  had  disappeared 
around  the  spur  of  the  mountain,  beyond  which 


300  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

the  trail  could  no  longer  be  seen,  Neal  turned  to 
their  guests,  who,  with  the  boys,  had  gathered 
at  the  edge  of  the  plateau  to  witness  the  de 
parture,  saying: 

"The  ceremonies  seem  to  be  over,  and  now 
I  s'pose  you  would  like  to  know  something  of 
the  scheme  I  wrote  about  in  such  hot  haste. 

"  Come  into  the  house,  and  we  can  talk  while 
I  'm  helping  Dave  get  dinner.  He  's  at  it 
already,  I  guess.  Of  course,  you  're  tired,  and 
I  '11  bet  you  're  hungry.  There  ain't  been  many 
people  up  over  our  trail  so  far,  but  there  's  never 
a  'tenderfoot'  arrived  here  yet  who  hasn't 
brought  an  appetite  with  him  that  I  'd  match 
against  a  timber-wolf." 

As  they  entered  the  cabin  he  said : 

"  Make  yourselves  comfortable,  fellows.  You 
can  lie  clown  and  stretch  your  legs  in  the  bunks 
there,  if  you  want  to." 

"Thanks,  Neal,"  said  Archie.  "I  hadn't 
thought  much  about  it  since  the  procession 
moved  up  out  of  the  bushes,  but  I  really  believe 
I  am  tired. " 

During  the  preparation  of  the  meal,  and  while 
the  party  was  at  table,  the  matter  w^hich  \vas  of 
greatest  interest  to  all  was  so  thoroughly  discussed 
that  by  the  time  dinner  was  ended,  a  full  and 
satisfactory  understanding  had  been  arrived  at. 


NEAL'S  NARRATIVE.  301 

"  If  these  leads  are  half  as  rich  as  you  seem  to 
think  they  are,"  remarked  Archie,  ''you're 
mighty  generous  with  us;  and  whether  they  are 
or  not,  we  've  reason  to  feel  grateful  for  your 
splendid  offer. " 

"  Yes,"  added  Harvey,  ki  I  '11  be  satisfied  with 
anything  at  all.  I  have  n't  expected  much  (I 
never  do  from  a  gold  mine).  The  trip  up  here, 
and  the  'dress-parade,'  and  the  dinner  are 
enough  to  pay  for  the  trouble.  If  I  only  could 
have  seen  Brodie  make  the  high  dive,  I  'd  be 
willing  to  trade  my  interest.  You  must  show 
me  the  place  where  he  did  the  flop,"  and  he 
laughed  in  gleeful  imagination  of  the  scene  Ken 
had  described. 

"Well,"  retorted  Neal,  "I  recommend  that 
you  wait  a  bit  before  you  go  to  trading  off  your 
property.  After  you  've  taken  a  peep  around, 
you  '11  be  better  able  to  tell  how  you  like  the 
prospects.  We  needn't  be  in  any  hurry  this 
afternoon,  though.  We  '11  sit  here  and  rest  and 
visit  for  a  while,  and  then  we  '11  stroll  over  to 
wards  the  tunnel.  There  's  another  day  coming, 
to-morrow." 

"Say,  Neal!"  exclaimed  Ken  suddenly. 
"  Do  you  know  we  've  made  a  blunder?  Wre  've 
allowed  Brodie  and  his  crowd  to  go  away  with 
out  making  them  tell  how  they  found  the  way  to 


302  THE    BIG-HORX    TREASURE. 

get  here,  and  where  the  trail  down  the  cliff  leads 
from!  You  remember  we  thought  there  was  n't 
a  possibility  of  an}*  one's  coming  by  the  ledge 
Brodie  discovered,  after  you  blew  away  the  ap 
proach  !  ' ' 

"Sure  enough,  Ken!  At  the  last  minute  T 
forgot  all  about  that!  "  returned  Ncal.  "  Well, 
maybe  we  '11  find  time  to  explore  it  before 
long." 

Ken  made  an  inward  resolution  that  he  would 
be  the  one  who  would  explore  the  trail;  and, 
moreover,  that  he  would  do  so  the  very  next 
day. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  RAFTING  EPISODE.—  KEN'S  DISCOVERY. 

What  with  the  lengthened  dinner,  the  conver 
sation,  and  the  natural  weariness  of  the  new 
partners,  the  afternoon  passed  with  but  little 
attempt  at  sight-seeing,  the  party  going  only  as 
far  as  the  Telluride  tunnel,  where  they  saw 
enough  to  arouse  the  astonishment  of  both 
Campbell  and  Harvey. 

"  Well,  Bob,  what  about  that  trade  you  were 
offering  a  while  ago?"  said  Neal,  holding  up 
his  candle  to  the  broad  surface  of  the  shining 
quartz,  as  they  stood  close  against  the  breast  at 
the  inner  end  of  the  tunnel. 

"  Did  I  offer  to  trade?  "  said  Harvey,  in  mimic 
horror.  "  I  must  have  been  talking  about  an 
interest  I  've  got  in  another  mine  over  the 
range.  I  'm  not  offering  any  trades  since  din 
ner,  anyway.  Did  you  say  the  other  lead  is  as 
good  as  this  one,  Neal?  " 

Neal  smiled  as  he  winked  at  Archie,  saying: 
"  It  's  pretty  hard  to  tell  about  leads  until  you 
come  to  work  'em.  We  '11  give  you  a  chance  to 
look  it  over  to-morrow. 

303 


304  TI  IK    1JI  ( ;  -  1 1 0  RX    T  R  HAS  I'  RE. 

At  breakfast  the  next  morning-  Ken  announced 
that,  if  agreeable  to  all,  he  would  like  to  put  in 
part  of  the  clay  hunting  and  exploring  the  upper 
trail.  "I've  a  great  curiosity,"  he  said. 
"  There  seems  just  enough  of  mystery  about  it 
to  make  me  want  to  solve  it.  And  then  you 
know  how  anxious  I  've  always  been  to  get  a 
big-horn,  and  I  've  never  yet  been  within  range." 

' '  All  right,  Ken, ' '  said  Xeal.  ' 4  Only,  if  you  're 
going  up  the  cliff,  be  careful  not  to  get  into  trouble. 
If  you  're  looking  for  any  of  Dave's  kind  of  ad 
ventures,  I  don't  believe  you  could  get  away, 
as  he  did,  with  nothing  worse  than  a  cold  swim." 

"  I  guess  Ken  will  be  all  right.  He  's  differ 
ent  from  me,"  said  Phil.  "  He  always  gets  the 
lay  of  the  ground  well  fixed  in  his  mind  before 
he  puts  his  foot  on  it." 

"Your  plan  is  to  go  over  it  first,  and  then 
size  it  up  afterwards;  eh,  Phil?  If  'twas  you 
that  was  going,  I  think  I  'd  follow  you  at  a  safe 
distance  behind,  just  to  keep  my  mind  easy," 
retorted  Neal,  laughingly. 

"  I  don't  blame  you  for  saying  that,  after 
the  Gunnison  trip,"  said  Phil.  "  But  the  scare 
I  had  that  day  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
course  for  me.  I  '11  get  to  be  as  careful  as  any 
of  you,  after  a  while." 

Ken  took  his  rifle,  a  rope,  and  a  leather  strap; 


A    RAFTINC    Kl'ISODK.  3°5 

placed  some  slices  of  bread  and  meat  in  a  small 
pouch,  which  he  fastened  to  his  belt,  and  with 
a  pleasant  word  to  Campbell  and  Harvey,  wish 
ing  them  a  day  full  of  pleasure,  started  away 
toward  the  northwest  corner  of  the  plateau. 

"Be  sure  to  get  back  before  dark!"  Neal 
called  after  him.  To  which  Ken  answered, 
"Yes,  I  will." 

"Now,  then,"  said  Neal,  addressing  Archie 
and  Bob,  "if  you  people  feel  that  your  nerves 
are  strong  enough  this  morning  to  stand  the 
excitement,  we  '11  go  all  around  the  place.  Are 
you  ready?  " 

"Yes,  bring  on  your  excitement,"  replied 
Archie.  "We'll  be  firm  as  rocks." 

"  Which  shall  it  be  first,  Dave?  The  Big- Horn 
or  the  ranche  and  the  general  surroundings?" 
Neal  asked. 

"  The  '  ranche  '  and  the  '  big-horn  ' !  "  said 
Harvey,  with  a  chuckle.  "Well,  I've  seen 
better  places  for  that  sort  of  thing.  Is  it  a  tame 
sheep  you  've  got;  and  have  you  coaxed  us  up 
here  to  look  over  some  kind  of  a  silly  stock- 
farm?  Archie,  we  've  got  to  kick." 

"Be  quiet,  Bob,  and  keep  up  your  faith," 
returned  Archie.  "Maybe  they  're  only  trying 
to  get  you  into  a  trade  this  morning." 

Dave    laughed,    and    then    replied    to    Neal: 


306  THE    BIG-HORN    TREASURE. 

"  I  think  it  might  be  better  to  show  them 
around  outside,  first.  Possibly  the  scenery  would 
be  a  little  tame  after  the  Big- Horn." 

"  Scenery!  "  groaned  Bob.  "  Rainbow  tints 
and  pet  lambs!  I  wouldn't  have  thought  it 
of  Neal.  Would  you,  Archie?" 

Neal  smiled  in  a  superior  way,  and  retorted: 
"High  altitude  sometimes  has  a  curious  effect 
on  delicate  people.  Archie,  are  you  prepared 
to  guarantee  the  pulse  and  heart-beats  of  your 
chum?  Maybe  this  is  going  to  be  too  strong 
for  him. " 

"  O,  he  '11  be  quiet,  soon.  I  vouch  for  him," 
returned  Archie. 

"  Well,  it  's  your  risk,  and  if  you  're  prepared 
to  take  it,  we  '11  move.  Come  on." 

We  need  not  followr  the  party  over  ground  that 
is  partly  familiar  to  the  reader,  and  need  only 
state  that  before  the  day  \vas  half  over,  both 
Archie  and  Bob  gave  frequent  expression  to  their 
amazement  and  delight.  There  was  one  little 
accident, —  which  happily,  had  no  serious  result, 
and  which  was  owing  to  Harvey's  boisterous  in 
terest  in  the  scene  of  the  "jumpers  "  raid. 

The  party  having  boarded  the  raft,  paused  as 
they  approached  the  cliff,  while  Phil  pointed  out 
the  features. 

"And  they  threw  all  their   shooting-irons  into 


A    RAFTING    EPISODE.  307 

the  lake,  right  here,  eh?  "  said  Bob.  He  glanced 
down  as  he  spoke,  into  the  clear,  glassy  depth. 

4 'Why,  I  believe  I  see  a  rifle  down  there 
now!"  he  cried,  leaning  over  and  peering  into 
the  water.  As  he  spoke,  his  foot  slipped  from 
the  smooth  log,  and  with  a  great  splash  and  a 
shout  he  went  down. 

"  He  can't  swim!  "  shouted  Archie.  "  We  '11 
have  to  save  him  ! 

He  rose  in  a  moment,  and  instantly  both  Dave 
and  Phil  plunged  in  and  grasped  him  by  the 
arms,  holding  him  until  the  others  assisted  him 
back  upon  the  raft. 

When  he  recovered  from  the  sneezing  and 
sputtering  occasioned  by  his  sudden  bath,  he 
ejaculated,  k<  Well,  I  'm  not  sorry  I  had  the  ex 
perience!  I  can  understand  Brodie's  sensations 
perfectly!  And,  jiminy!  What  a  shiver  he 
got  after  his  five  or  ten  minutes  of  it !  When  I 
learn  to  swim,  I  won't  practice  here." 

"Why,  I  thought  you  took  the  header  inten 
tionally,  so  as  to  get  that  rifle  you  sa\v, ' '  said  Neal. 

"  Well,"  Bob  answered,  quickly,  "  if  the  other 
boys  had  n't  held  me  back,  I  'd  have  got  it  too. 
It  was  a  Remington  45-90,  and  a  better  gun 
than  mine  !  " 

Harvey  had  to  submit  to  Neal's  banter  during 
the  rest  of  the  day,  and  notwithstanding  he  was 


30cS  THK    JiKi-HORN    TREASURE 

a  little  chagrined,  he  took  it  all  in  the  very 
best  nature.  After  they  arrived  at  the  cave, 
however,  and  both  the  new  partners  had  suc 
ceeded  in  scraping  some  beautiful  nuggets  from 
the  dirt,  all  thought  of  the  accident  was,  for  the 
time  being,  forgotten. 

At  noon,  when,  jubilant  and  hungry,  they 
were  returning  to  camp,  they  were  just  stepping 
from  the  raft  when  they  heard  a  distant  shout; 
and,  looking  far  up  the  cliff,  saw  Ken  wending 
his  way  downward  with  a  good-sized  burden 
upon  his  back. 

11  Ken's  got  a  sheep,"  said  Neal.  "And  I'm 
glad,  because  it  '11  do  him  so  much  good;  besides, 
the  mutton  isn't  bad  to  have." 

Preparation  of  the  noonday  meal  was  an  easy 
task  under  three  willing  pairs  of  hands.  Phil 
wras  the  third  assistant,  and  it  gratified  him  im 
mensely  to  hear  Neal  say  that  he  was  progress 
ing  so  \vell  in  the  culinary  art  that  he  would 
soon  be  able  to  do  as  well  as  any  of  them. 

Dinner  wras  almost  ready  when  Ken  arrived ; 
and  he  at  once  received  the  congratulations  of  all 
over  the  half  of  a  fine  young  big-horn  ram  which 
he  brought.  At  the  meal  he  £ave  an  account  of 

o  <"> 

his  hunt,  and  also  told  the  result  of  his  explora 
tion  for  the  trail. 

"  I  had  a  theory,"  Ken  said,  "that  northwest- 


A    RAFTING    EPISODE.  311 

ward  somewhere  along  the  cliff  I  would  find  a 
pass  that  would  let  me  through  to  the  west  side; 
and  that  's  just  what  I  did  find.  I  think  it  's 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  here.  I  followed  it 
clear  through  to  the  west  slope,  and  it  was  at  a 
place  about  half  a  mile  up  the  canon  that  I  got 
my  sheep.  I  left  him  right  there,  and  went  on 
for  nearly  an  hour,  I  think,  before  it  opened  so 
that  I  could  have  a  view  of  the  great  mesa,* 
over  to  the  west. 

"  When  I  reached  the  end  of  the  gorge,  I  found 
a  well-marked  trail  that  ran  northward  along  the 
slope;  and,  as  I  was  out  on  a  journey  of  discovery 
I  followed  it,  and  in  half  an  hour  I  came  to  a 
camp.  There  was  nobody  about,  and  it  had  a 
deserted  look,  although  it  was  quite  newly  made, 
too.  There  was  a  sort  of  a  crib  of  freshly  cut 
logs,  and  a  top  covering  of  old  canvas.  The 
provisions  were  very  low,  and  I  found  several 
empty  whisky  bottles. 

"  Right  close  by  there  was  an  open-cut  on  a 
vein.  I  brought  a  piece  of  rock,  Neal.  Do  you 
think  there  is  anything  in  it?  I  thought  it  looked 
just  a  little  like  telluride." 

He  took  a  piece  of  quartz  from  his  pocket  and 
handed  it  to  Neal,  who  examined  it  closely. 

*The  Spanish   word  for  table-land,  universally  used  in  the 
Southwest. 


312  THE    BIG-IIORX    TRKASl'RE. 

41  Yes,"  he  said  at  length.  "  I  think  there's 
tellurium  in  it.  I  should  say  that  our  late  visit 
ors  had  a  claim  which  might  turn  out  rather  well. 
I  suppose  there  wasn't  any  one  among  the  whole 
half  dozen  who  knew  a  good  piece  of  ore  from 
a  bad  one.  We  can  put  it  away,  and  sometime 
when  Dave's  furnace  is  hot,  maybe  he  '11  make  a 
test  of  it." 

'It  seems  to  me  almost  too  bad  that  those 
men  couldn't  get  the  benefit  of  what  really  be 
longs  to  them,"  said  Ken,  musingly.  "A  real 
stroke  of  good  luck  might  do  more  than  anything 
else  to  bring  about  a  change  in  the  characters  of 
all  of  them.  " 

'  I  think  we  will  run  across  some  of  them, 
sooner  or  later,"  said  Neal;  "and  if  they  seem 
disposed  to  brace  up,  and  the  stuff  proves  to  be 
good,  perhaps  we  may  feel  warranted  in  tellino- 

o 

them  about  it.  It  would  be  a  first-class  job, 
Ken,  as  you  say,  if  we  could  make  six  law-abiding, 
honest  men  out  of  these  rascals." 

Harvey  laid  his  fork  down  and  leaned  his  elbow 
on  the  table,  gazing  fixedly  at  Neal.  At  length 
he  said  :  "  Say  !  you  duffers  here  make  up  a  com 
bination  that  gives  odds  to  anything  I  've  ever 
backed  up  yet.  You  locate  a  gold  bonanza  that, 
for  promise,  breaks  all  records,  and  it  don't 
*  phase  '  you ;  you  put  up  a  paralyzing  fight  with 


A    RAFTING    EPISODE.  313 

a  lot  of  cutthroat  jumpers,  and  in  the  very  same 
act  you  offer  the  gang  sweet  religious  counsel, 
and  tell  'em  to  go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more;  and 
now,  if  you  're  not  actually  proposing  an  active 
missionary  campaign  !  . 

"As  I  've  said  before,  it  's  not  a  bit  in  my  line, 
and  I  don't  feel  able  to^'T^  it  altogether.  The 
law  is  good  enough  for  me.  But  there  's  one 
thing  I  can  catch  on  to,  and  that  is,  that  you  're 
about  the  best  crowrd  of  fellows  I  ever  got  mixed 
up  with,  and  I  want  to  shake  hands  all  round, 
just  to  show  that  I  like  you,  even  if  I  don't  un 
derstand  your  style. 

"  Thank  you,  Bob,"  replied  Neal.  "Maybe 
the  '  campaign  '  won  't  get  up  any  very  lively 
hustle  after  all.  But  if  it  works  out  along  our 
lines  we  '11  be  fair  rivals,  and  we  '11  give  you  a 
chance  to  see  whether  the  '  missionary  '  plan 
stands  any  show7  in  a  race  with  the  '  majesty  of 
the  law.' 

Campbell  and  Harvey  remained  a  week  at 
camp,  and  before  they  left,  the  plans  were  all 
matured  for  the  prosecution  of  active  work  on 
the  mines,  and  upon  a  large  scale. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

FOUR  YEARS  LATER.— RETURN  OF  THE  WAN 
DERERS. 

Four  years  have  passed  since  the  happenings 
narrated  in  the  foregoing  chapters;  and  it  is  a 
beautiful  October  morning  in  the  city  of  Denver. 
At  the  Union  Depot,  where  the  through  train 
from  the  East  is  reported  a  little  behind-time, 
two  young  men  of  fine  bearing  are  walking  up 
and  down  the  platform,  conversing  in  a  happy, 
and  yet  expectant  manner. 

They  are  unmistakably  gentlemen,  which  fact 
is  indicated,  not  so  much  by  their  erect  and  easy 
bearing,  and  the  modish  cut  of  their  garments, 
as  by  the  intelligent  refinement  which  their  faces 
express,  and  such  fragments  of  conversation  as  we 
are  able  to  overhear. 

As  we  regard  the  two  faces  more  closely,  we 
become  aware  that  they  seem  curiously  familiar; 
familiar,  yet  almost  strange,  through  the  utter 
contrast  between  these,  their  present  surroundings 
and  make-up,  and  the  locality  and  garb  which 
were  theirs  when  we  last  saw  them.  Then,  too, 
314 


FOUR    YEARS    EATER.  315 

the  few  added  years  have  replaced  some  portion 
(however  slight),  of  former  boyishness  with  just 
a  trace  of  the  gravity  of  manhood.  A  remark 
of  the  younger  may  give  us  a  last  clue  to  their 
identity. 

"  I  wonder,  Ken,  whether  the  boys  will  dawn 
upon  us  in  London  tweeds  or  the  newest  stun 
ning  creations  of  a  Parisian  tailor?  After  trot 
ting  over  the  globe  for  a  whole  year,  Dave  and 
Neal  will  have  been  compelled,  from  actual  ne 
cessity,  to  adopt  European  fashions." 

Ken  laughed  at  this  speech,  and  answered: 

"That's  an  odd  thought  of  yours,  Phil,  but 
I  presume  you  are  not  far  from  right,  either. 
I  can  hardly  conjure  up  a  picture  of  Neal,  though, 
in  a  suit  of  Continental  cut.  I  make  the  predic 
tion  that  his  choice  will  be  English; — neither 
will  Dave  be  any  more  extreme  than  the  circum 
stances  have  compelled." 

"  What  a  time  they  must  have  had  !  "  returned 
Phil.  "  I  'm  sure  of  one  thing.  I  'd  be  willing 
to  wrager  my  black  saddle-horse  that  they  have  n't 
done  a  single  thing  in  the  ordinary,  commonplace, 
'regular  tourist'  style.  They're  sure  to  have 

o  j  * 

been  original  in  their  sight-seeing,  and  will  have 
experiences  to  tell  never  dreamed  of  by  other 
people." 

"  Here  's  the  train,"  exclaimed  Ken,  suddenly; 


316  THE    IHG-IIORX    TREASURE. 

and  they  at  once  turned  about  and  hurried  to  the 
other  end  of  the  platform. 

Just  as  the  train  came  to  a  stop,  Phil  and  Ken 
stationed  themselves  near  the  rear  end,  knowing 

o 

their  friends  would  be  in  a  sleeping-car;  and, 
as  the  passengers  began  to  pour  forth,  they 
eagerly  scrutinized  each  face.  They  were  taken 
by  surprise,  after  all;  for,  Ken,  feeling  a  slight 
tap  on  his  shoulder,  turned,  gave  an  exclamation, 
and  instantly  he  and  Phil  were  shaking  hands 
in  the  warmest  manner  with  two  quite  distin 
guished-looking  gentlemen. 

After  the  first  greetings,  each  grasped  a  travel 
ing-bag,  and  Phil  led  the  way  toward  the  carriage- 
stand,  where,  beckoning  to  the  livened  driver 
of  what  was  evidently  an  elegant  private  turn-out, 
he  seated  his  three  friends  and  took  his  place 
beside  them. 

"  I  shall  drive  home,  William,"  he  said;  "  you 
may  take  the  trolley-car  and  reach  there  ahead 
of  us." 

As  the  beautiful  pair  sprang  forward  in  their 
eagerness  to  be  moving,  Dave  asked : 

o  o ' 

"Why,  where  did  you  get  such  an  educated 
taste  in  horse-flesh,  Phil?  Those  grays  are  fit 
for  the  Shah  of  Persia." 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Neal,    "  I  had  a  kind 


FOUR    YEARS    LATER.  317 

of  half-crazy  idea  that  we  should  find  you  wait 
ing  for  us  with  Sancho  and  a  camp  outfit?  " 

"  Well,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  Ken,  with  a  jolly 
laugh,  "  I  'd  like  to  ask  what  you  expected  to  do 
with  this  sort  of  wardrobe  in  camp?  " 

"  Just  the  same  as  I  should  with  the  rest 
of  my  old  clothes.  And  I  don't  believe  I  think 
half  as  much  of  'em,  either,"  answered  Neal. 
"  We  got  these  things  in  Paris.  We  had  to  have 
something;  and  I  said  to  Dave,  \ve  'd  go  the 
whole  figure,  just  to  get  the  experience,  and 
find  out  how  they  felt.  If  you  've  got  a  brown 
woolen  shirt  and  a  pair  of  duck  trousers  at  home, 
I  '11  trade  even  with  you,  when  we  get  there. 
It  '11  be  worth  the  full  price  of  the  traveling 
experience  just  to  get  back  and  put  on  some 
clothes  I  can  feel  comfortable  in." 

"  But,  really  now,  fellows,  don't  Neal  look 
swell?"  asked  Dave,  as  his  eyes  glanced  over 
the  fine  figure  of  his  chum. 

"  For  that  matter,"  answered  Ken,  "  you  both 
look  swell  enough  to  have  just  emerged  from  the 
glamour  and  influence  of  a  European  court." 
But  his  gaze  rested  longest  upon  Neal,  who, 
indeed,  was  very  pleasant  to  look  at. 

They  were  four  fine  looking  fellows.  Phil,  with 
his  olive  complexion  and  dark,  wavy  hair;  Ken, 


318  THE    BIG- HORN    TREASURE. 

with  his  brown  eyes  and  mustache  and  clear 
skin  ;  and  Dave,  with  features  of  somewhat  more 
rugged  mold,  but  with  marks  of  strength  and 
force  in  every  lineament.  Neal  was  by  far  the 
handsomest  of  the  four.  Phil  and  Ken,  as  they 
looked  at  him,  doubted  if  they  had  ever  seen 
a  finer  looking  man.  His  year  of  absence  from 
the  winds  and  snows  of  the  Rockies  had  served 
to  give  a  somewhat  refined  cast  to  his  always 
striking  face ;  and  his  perfect-fitting  dark  clothes 
set  off  to  perfection  his  six  feet  of  stalwart  man 
liness. 

'He's  shaved  off  his  blonde  mustache," 
thought  Ken;  "  and  he  's  immensely  handsomer 
without  it.  His  profile  is  perfectly  Grecian. 
With  an  education  I  believe  that  Neal,  with  his 
common  sense,  good  understanding,  and  fine 
presence,  would  have  been  a  power  in  the 
world. " 

"  Where  are  you  taking  us  to,  Phil?"  asked 
Dave,  after  they  had  been  riding  eastward  for 
sometime.  "This  must  be  Capitol  Hill  where 
we  are  now,  isn't  it?  Things  have  changed  so 
here  in  four  years,  I  don't  recognize  anything." 
"Yes,  this  is  the  Hill,"  said  Ken,  answering 
for  Phil.  "  Do  you  see  the  large  house  yonder, 
which  stands  by  itself?  " 

"The  red  stone  one,  with   the   wide  grounds, 


FOUR    YEARS    LATER.  319 

the  trees,  and  the  lodge?  It  reminds  me  a  little 
of  some  of  the  English  baronial  country  seats." 

"  It  's  our  new  home."  said  Ken.  "  Phil, 
his  mother,  Lucy,  and  I :  we  all  live  here  to 
gether.  ' ' 

"  Whew!  "  cried  Dave.  "  In  one  of  the  few 
letters  of  Lucy's  which  didn't  get  lost  she  told 
of  your  being  all  together,  and  said  there  was  a 
house  being  built;  but  I  didn't  look  for  a  royal 
palace,"  he  added,  as  the  carriage  began  to  wind 
among  the  trees  within  the  inclosure. 

It  is,  perhaps,  time  to  announce  that  Ken  had 
been  married  to  Dave's  sister  Lucy  for  more  than 
a  year,  and  that  it  was  shortly  after  the  wedding 
that  Dave  and  Neal  departed  on  their  world- 
wanderings. 

As  the  horses  stopped  underneath  the  portc- 
cochcrc,  a  tall,  beautiful  woman,  standing  in  the 
doorway,  called : 

"O,  Davie,  brother!"  and,  as  he  quickly 
alighted  and  sprang  to  the  steps,  her  arms  went 
around  his  neck. 

"  Now,  fellows!"  cried  Phil,  when  their  friends 
had  been  ushered  into  the  reception-room,  "  your 
own  apartments  are  all  ready  for  you  —  have  been 
ever  since  the  house  was  furnished,  and  will  be, 
always,  and  at  any  time.  The  entire  establish 
ment  is  at  your  disposal,  and  we  're  all  going  to 


320  THE  BIG-IIORX    TREASURE. 

insist  that  you  take  possession  of  it  precisely  as 
though  you  had  come  back  to  the  cabin  at  the 
Big- Horn.  This  merely  is  a  larger  one  than  that, 
and  has  more  plate-glass  and  shine  about  it  — 
but  what  else?  We  're  all  perfectly  happy  here; 
but  so  we  were  up  there,  and  we  all  four  have 
as  much  interest  in  this  house  as  we  had  in  the 
cabin.  It  was  built  on  the  community  plan,  any 
way. 

"  We  had  a  dispute  as  to  who  should  hold  the 
title,"  said  Ken,  "and  it  finally  was  settled  on 
me,  against  my  will.  When  I  'm  tired  of  it,  I  '11 
pass  it  on;  and  when  you've  been  all  over  it, 
we  '11  ask  you  later  for  your  opinion." 

"Yes,"  said  Phil.  You  ought  to  be  compe 
tent  judges  now.  "  I  have  n't  yet  been  over  the 
water,  but  the  idea  I  've  formed  of  it  is,  that 
Europe  consists  entirely  of  houses.  And  of 
course  you  saw  them  all." 

Dave  and  Neal  both  joined  in  a  hearty  laugh, 
Neal  exclaiming: 

"  It  's  been  a  standing  joke  with  us  for  a  good 
while,  that  probably  no  two  men  ever  traveled 
around  the  world  before,  and  saw  (or  at  least 
noticed)  as  few  houses  as  we.  Dave  will  tell  you 
about  it." 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  Wentworth  and  Lucy  — 
or  Mrs.  Carter — entered.  Mrs.  Wentworth  was 


Ill"    Ql'ICKLV    ALir.HTK!:    AND    Sl'UANG    'I  O    THE    STEPS 


FOUR    YEARS    LATER.  323 

no  stranger  to  any  of  the  boys,  so  that  the 
greetings  were  warm  and  without  any  restraint 
whatever. 

"  Now  what  is  it  Dave  is  going  to  tell  about?" 
asked  Lucy.  "We  want  to  hear  everything; 
don't  we,  Mrs.  Wentworth?" 

"Indeed  we  do,  and  we  insist  on  not  being 
left  out,"  replied  that  happy  and  proud-looking 
lady,  who,  in  appearance,  might  almost  have 
been  Phil's  elder  sister,  instead  of  his  mother, 
and  whom  he  resembled  surprisingly.  "  Dave 
can  tell  us  at  breakfast,"  she  added,  as  a  spruce 
and  dignified  butler  appeared  with  the 
announcement  of  service. 

11  Phil  was  saying,"  Dave  began,  when  they 
were  at  table  in  the  spacious  dining-room  whose 
windows  commanded  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
distant  snowy  Range,  "that  Neal  and  I  must 
have  become  authorities  on  houses  after  seeing 

o 

so  many  abroad;  and  Neal  said  I  would  tell  how 
it  comes  that  we  gave  so  little  attention  to  build 
ings  that  we  hardly  know  any  more  about  them 
than  when  we  went  away. 

"  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  this:  We  started 
out  to  see  the  world:  and  we  found  out,  almost 
as  soon  as  we  started,  that  both  of  us  felt  alike 
on  one  subject,  which  was  a  comparative  indif- 
erence  about  cities  and  their  inhabitants.  We 


324  TIIF,   I;K;- iioux  TRKASTRF. 

realize  that  main-  would  declare  the  cities  to  be 
the  most  important  elements  of  the  world,  even- 
where;  but  while  we  do  not  deny  this,  we  simply 
say  that  the  features  which  excited  our  interest 
were  the  stretches  of  country  that  lie  between 
the  cities:  the  great  plains,  the  valleys,  the 
deserts,  and  especially  the  mountains. 

"  Now  if  you  want  any  information  about 
mountains,  or  the  people  who  live  in  them,"  he 
continued  with  a  laugh,  4<  we  modestly  believe 
we  can  gratify  you.  \Ye  did  the  Alps  and  the 
Pyrenees  pretty  thoroughly.  The  scenery,  in 
parts,  is  great,  and  we  found  the  people  rather 
entertaining;  but  Neal  thought  the  show  for 
mineral  \vas  beneath  contempt.  We  went  over 
the  Dovre  Chain,  and  liked  the  Norwegians  so 
much  we  hated  to  leave;  then  we  swung  down 
through  the  Carpathians  and  Balkans,  getting 
more  and  more  interested,  and  running  across 
peoples  and  ways  of  existence  we  never  had 
dreamed  of.  We  took  in  the  Caucasus,  and  were 
enthusiastic  about  the  district.  Neal  thinks  when 
they  begin  to  get  civilized,  the  possibilities  for 
mining  there  are  large. 

"Then  we  went  into  the  Himalayas,  and 
Hindu-Kush;  extended  our  acquaintance  as 
much  as  \ve  could  with  the  Afghans  and  the  Hill 
Tribes,  and  had  to  reluctantly  admit  that  the 


FOUR    YEARS    LATER.  325 

Rockies  dwindled  away  pretty  badly  beside  those 
peaks.  We  tried  the  Altai,  and  Neal  gave  some 
valuable  pointers  on  hydraulic  placer-mining  to 
the  Russian  martinets  in  charge  of  the  convict 
gangs  (at  least  he  said  he  did),"  and  Dave 
winked  at  Phil.  "Then  we  crossed  over  to 
Japan:  and  what  do  you  think?  —  we  located  a 
vein  carrying  tellurium  and  free  gold  on  the  side 
of  sacred  Fusiyama.  We  think  the  Japs  are 
going  to  make  great  miners  in  a  few  years. 
Wouldn't  wonder  if  they  have  the  ore  too. 

"  We  inspected  Cecil  Rhodes's  bonanzas  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  compared  notes  on  the  kind  of 
labor  the  blacks  do,  there,  as  against  the  pre 
historic  methods  of  basket-and-ladder  that  we 
ran  across  in  certain  places  down  among  the 
Peons  in  the  Andes.  .  .  . 

"So  you  see,  that's  the  reason  we  didn't 
learn  much  about  houses.  We  don't  feel  that 
we  've  put  in  our  time  so  badly,  though,  and  if 
you  know  anybody  who  thinks  he  's  had  a  better 
time  out  of  a  year's  travel,  bring  him  in  and 
we  '11  argue  with  him." 

"  But  the  best  of  all,  Davie,"  exclaimed  Neal, 
"is  the  getting  back  home.  The  sight  of  you 
all  is  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  the  view  of  the 
Range  from  here  is  as  lovely  as  anything  I 
remember.  What  news  about  the  Telluride  and 


326  THE  r,K;-iioRx  TREASURE. 

Big-Horn?  Do  they  still  hold  out  as  well  as 
ever?  and  have  you  ever  regretted  selling  out  the 
control  for  six  millions?  " 

"No,  indeed!"  cried  Phil  and  Ken  both 
together. 

"They  are  paying  splendidly,"  said  Ken  — 
the  Tclluridc  seems  a  trifle  ahead  just  now  —  but 
our  price  was  good,  even  if  the  property  should 
prove  to  be  worth  sixty  millions;  and  besides, 
the  dividends  on  the  third  we  kept  come  along 
as  regular  as  clockwork.  We  need  n't  lose  any 
sleep  if  both  mines  '  play  out  '  to-morrow." 

"What  about  Archie  and  Bob?"  Neal  in 
quired. 

"  O !  Haven't  you  heard?"  cried  Phil. 
"  But  of  course  you  haven't.  You  know,  they 
couldn't  get  enough  of  politics;  and  in  their 
cases  matters  work  beautifully.  Archie  has 
been  elected  to  Congress,  and  Bob  is  candidate 
for  governor,  with  the  chances  first-class  in  his 
favor. ' ' 

"Good!"  cried  Neal.  "If  only  it  don't 
spoil  'em,  and  I  don't  believe  it  will." 

"And,  O,  say  Neal!  Tell  about  Brodie, 
Ken!  "  said  Phil. 

Ken  told  how  one  day  nearly  a  year  ago  they 
had  found  Brodie  hard  at  work  for  one  of  the 
mining  companies;  and  learning  upon  inquiry 


FOUR    YEARS    LATER.  327 

that  he  had  been  a  good,  steady  worker  ever 
since  he  entered  their  employ,  he  told  him  about 
the  excellent  assay  the  boys  got  from  the  ore  of 
his  abandoned  claim. 

"  He  and  his  chums  managed  to  get  capital  to 
work  with,  and  their  property  is  turning  out 
first-class.  They  say  at  least  three  or  four  of 
the  crowd  are  there,  and  that  they  all  are  good, 
well-behaved  fellows.  I  told  Harvey  about  it. 
It  amused  him,  and  he  says  we've  won,"  said 
Ken. 

And  thus  the  conversation  ran  along.      But  we 

cannot  prolong  the  account  of  it. 

**#**#  * 

Neal  and  Dave  still  continue  to  make  (or  at 
least  to  call)  the  Denver  house  their  home,  but 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  are  absent 
in  the  mountains  and  elsewhere,  looking  after 
their  various  enterprises, —  in  some  of  which 
Phil  and  Ken  are  interested.  The  latter  two 
devote  the  larger  part  of  their  attention  to 
guarding  and  protecting  the  property  of  all  four 
of  the  friends. 

"Perhaps  it   did  n't   require  any  brains  to  get 
our  wealth,"  Phil  observed,  "but   we   don't  in 
tend   ever  to   have   it  said  about   any  of   our  set 
that  we  had  n't  brains  enough  to  keep  it." 
THE    END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


29^" 

RETURNED  TO 

ASTRON.,  MATH.- 

5TAT.  LIBRARY 

JULl     1960 

M.1054&2 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


